Choosing You
by marysunshine81
Summary: Diane and Will are married with two kids, this is as crazy as I can get with fanfic writing. AU of course. There are some M rated chapters with warning
1. Chapter 1

**Diane and Will are married with two kids, this is as crazy as I can get with fanfic writing. :P**

**Disclaimer:**

I don't own Diane and Will or the other characters that might appear from the show. There are also two characters from 'The Practice', those who haven't seen that show, don't worry, they won't be around too much. The rest of the characters are my own.

**Note:**

One day I read this tweet: _"Diane Lockhart, I want to grow up to be just like you. (Maybe the version of you that is married to Will and has his babies...) #Thegoodwife"_ and I wrote the first chapter of this fic the same night. It consists of 31 chapters already and I'm not done with it yet, so expect it to get vey long. :P I've finally took the courage to post the first chapter on here, please don't hate it too much. This whole fic is as OOC as I can ever get with Diane and Will, hope you forgive me for that!

Reviews are always appreciated! :)

* * *

**Choosing You**

**Chapter One**

"Only 34 hours?"

"Yes."

"But 34 hours are a lot."

"But you spend 10 hours with sleeping, 20 hours at school, the remaining 4 hours will just fly away and of course we'll talk on the phone."

"Will you call me?"

"Of course I will, we will talk many times.

"Many? How much is that?"

"I don't know exactly, but you can also call me whenever you want to, all right?"

"All right," the girl said with a shy smile, which showed that she started to believe what her mother was telling her.

"And please behave nicely with Aunt Diane, you should set a good example for your brother."

"But he is the one who always starts it."

"But you are older, you should be wiser."

"Do you think I can be wise?"

Diane had to suppress her smile looking at her daughter, like all six-year olds she always had a question at hand.

"Sure you can, you just have to decide it. You can show Aunt Diane that you are a good girl."

"But she talks too much, she is boring."

And like all six-year olds she was honest.

"She doesn't always have company, you should try to be patient with her. She loves you both very much."

"Do we have to love her too?"

"Have to? Well, you should try to like her, yes."

"All right, I will try."

"That's my girl," she said, stroking her hair and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "But we really have to go, sweetie."

"Yes," Will said finally, breaking his silence and Diane just had to roll her eyes at him for sounding so impatient.

"And what are you and daddy gonna do tonight?"

"We already discussed this, we are celebrating our wedding anniversary."

"And why can't we be there?"

"Because it will be late at night and you have to go to school early tomorrow."

"I can always skip school."

"But you still have to be in bed by 8."

"I know," she replied after a short pause, obviously accepting that her mother was right.

Diane gave her a hug then Will did the same.

"34 hours," the girl said, trying to smile a little, but she failed. For a short moment Diane feared that she might start to cry, but she didn't.

"A little less than 34 hours now."

"Yes," she said, smiling this time then waved to them and turned around. The next moment she joined a group of children and immediately started taking part in the conversation and Diane felt really proud of her at that moment.

"We really should go," she heard Will's voice from her side.

"I know," she slowly turned in his direction.

"Hey, I don't want to see tears," he softly stroked her face.

"I'm fine," she blinked a few times, "Let's go."

But even though he had been the impatient one, this time he didn't even move hearing her words. Instead he leaned forward and kissed her.

"Happy Anniversary!" he whispered after the kiss ended.

"Happy Anniversary!" she replied smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Stop looking at your watch," he whispered into her ear.

"We're already late," she replied in the same tone turning in his direction.

"I know, but…"

"Mr. Gardner, Miss Lockhart, is there anything you'd like to share with the court?"

"No, Your Honor, we apologize," Will replied respectfully.

Judge Kittleson eyed both of them for a short moment before she turned her attention back to the man on the witness stand and the woman standing in front of him.

"Please continue, Miss Gamble," she said and as the ASA directed her next question to the witness she again sent a short gaze in Diane and Will's direction, clearly showing that she'd keep an eye on them.

Diane let out a sigh and already started giving up on them ever making it to that restaurant for their dinner reservation, when she heard Helen Gamble's voice.

"I have nothing further, Your Honor."

"Miss Lockhart, Mr. Gardner, your witness."

Diane looked at Will with despair and he stood up, but instead of stepping closer to the witness he stayed on his spot.

"You Honor, can we approach, please?"

Judge Kittleson didn't seem surprised, like she'd already expected something like this to happen. She nodded and waved in the direction of the ASA as well.

When all three of them were standing in front of the bench Will cleared his throat and with all three women looking in his direction he finally took the courage to speak.

"Your Honor, we have kind of an…emergency, so I was wondering if we could ask for a continuance until tomorrow morning?"

"What emergency?" she asked impatiently, clearly not liking Will's request.

Diane looked at her husband, who was obviously trying to decide if he should tell the truth or not. He looked at her and she nodded in agreement that he should go with the truth.

"We have our wedding anniversary today," he said the words and Diane was relieved to see the look on the judge's face.

"Well, in case Miss Gamble doesn't have an objection," she replied turning her attention to the ASA.

"No, Your Honor, in fact I wish you too a fun night," she said teasing.

"All right then, we adjourn until tomorrow," Roberta said.

"Thank you, Your Honor," Diane replied and was about to turn around, when she heard the judge's voice again.

"But Miss Lockhart, don't think we will ever forgive you for robbing this man from us, no matter how many years have passed. I'm sure Miss Gamble agrees with me on this."

"Oh yes, it was a great loss to all of us," Helen replied and Diane smiled at Will, who clearly felt uncomfortable as the centre of all three women's attention.

"We are adjourned until tomorrow morning at eight," the Judge said loud, hitting the bench with her gavel and silently added, "Congratulations," looking at the couple.

o-o-o

"Good night sweetie," she said then placed the phone on the table. His hand immediately reached out for it and before she could say or do anything, her phone disappeared in the inner pocket of his jacket.

"You cannot make more phone calls tonight," he stated and his face suggested that he didn't want to hear any objections. She tried nevertheless, it would have been unlike her to just accept his terms so easily.

"Can I please have my phone back?"

"No. As you saw I didn't turn it off so in case it rings I might allow you to answer, depending on who is the caller of course."

"Is it going to be like this from now on? You should tell me before I give you your anniversary present," she teased and immediately saw the interest in his eyes. She knew him well enough to know how to get to him. No matter how old he was, he still loved getting presents just as much as his own kids.

"It depends on what that present is."

"Nice try."

"Actually I've already got my present," he said softly, placing his hand on hers, "A night out with the most gorgeous woman in this room, who happens to be my wife. I'm a lucky man."

She knew that he meant every word, the tone, the look on his face, the touch of his hand on hers were the proof. And the fact that he said it after seven years of marriage just proved it right that she'd chosen to give up her freedom for him. Now she couldn't imagine her life without him and their children.

"Right back at you, Mister," she replied smiling.

"What do you say if we disappear in our room right now?"

"How could I say no to that?"

With their arms holding the other they walked towards the elevator and after they stepped inside and the doors closed, hiding them from the world it just felt right to kiss him.

Once in a year that was their night and theirs only. For a few hours they were not parents of two children or fellow equity partners of a law firm, they were just a woman and a man who were still in love after many years spent together.

It had started out as a work-relationship almost ten years ago. He'd second chaired most of her cases, they'd spent days and nights working together. She'd got to know him exactly when her biological clock had started ticking. That had been the time for her to decide what she'd wanted from life: career or a family. It had been basically his fault that she'd ended up sacrificing the first for the latter.

Not that she ever thought about it that way when she looked at their children. She loved them more than anything in the world, just like she loved him. And now that she was working again, it didn't feel like she'd missed out on anything. Due to her maternal leave and the age difference, they were now on the same stages of their careers and it seemed like the perfect time to finally take another step forward, to open up their own law firm.

That was her anniversary present for him, she'd found the perfect place for them to start their dream in. But by the time they got out of the elevator, they'd both forgotten about the anniversary, the presents, the firm, even the children. They only had one thing on their minds and as the door of the hotel room closed behind them there were no doubts that they would make it a night to remember.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

As she opened the door and stepped inside the room she couldn't miss that everyone's heads turned in her direction. Her natural reaction was to look down on her clothes, but not surprisingly her outfit seemed fine. Even though she'd dressed in a hurry, she'd remembered to look in the mirror before they'd left the hotel room. She glanced back on her husband, who also seemed to look presentable, so she decided to ignore the curious eyes and approached their table.

After she'd took down the folders from her hand she finally dared to take a look at the woman wearing the robe and she was looking rather angrily at them.

"We apologize Your Honor," she heard Will's voice from her side, while she was eyeing the judge, whose expression didn't change a bit. In fact she motioned in their direction to approach her.

"Good morning to you both," she said remarkably.

"Good morning, Your Honor," she replied after a short pause and Will quickly followed her lead and did the same.

"I don't care what kind of an _emergency _you had last night, I said eight o'clock. This court cannot sit here and wait for you, just because you seemed to have forgotten to set an alarm."

Diane was tempted to check her watch, just to see what time it exactly was, but she didn't dare to do that. Although she was sure it couldn't have been more than five past eight, but since she wasn't sure, she couldn't state that. Besides it wouldn't have been wise to contradict the judge, her voice seemed too assertive for that.

"We are sorry, Your Honor," Will again took up the task of apologizing, but Roberta was still looking in her direction and Diane wasn't sure why.

"It won't happen again, Your Honor," she said and the judge's face started to calm down, when a cell phone started to ring.

Diane almost used an inappropriate word when she realized it was her phone and she wasn't sure if she should just pretend it wasn't hers or do something.

"Is it your phone?" the judge's face started to get angry again, looking at both of them now and Diane was about to admit that it was hers, when Roberta suddenly turned away from them, "Do you find it funny, Miss Gamble?"

"No, Your Honor," Helen replied immediately and tried to keep a straight face.

"Whoever's phone it was, if I hear it ringing again I will confiscate it at once, are we clear?" she asked, but clearly didn't expect a reply, "Now, can we finally please start the day?"

"Yes, Your Honor," the three of them said together and Diane actually saw a little smile in the corner of the woman's lips before she turned around. Judge Kittleson might have been a strict judge, but she clearly had a sense of humor.

o-o-o

"How many times?" was his first question as she entered their bedroom that night.

"Five," she replied and she walked up to her side of the bed, just to fall on her back like a piece of wood.

"Five? That's a new record," he said, putting aside the papers he'd been reading.

"You tell me," she sounded exhausted and the feeling was present in every inch of her body.

"How long do you think it will last this time?"

"I wish I could tell. I think we might have reached a hundred times with The Ugly Duckling."

"I really should take over tomorrow night," he offered, even though they both new it was merely just a gesture.

"You really should," she agreed, more than willing to give up the task for a night.

"But I know you love reading to them," he was right, it was actually her favorite time with the kids, right before they fell asleep, when they were more like angels, smiling at her while she read their bedtime story and they kept on smiling longer than they stayed awake.

"Yes I do, but _five_ times on one night?" she emphasized the number.

"I'm sorry, but on the other hand there's something we used to do five times a night and you never complained," he said, moving closer to her and she just couldn't help chuckling.

"But you do know that you're not getting that something tonight, right?"

"And why is that?" he asked as he started kissing her arm upwards from her wrist.

"Because I can't even move a finger right now and I still have a closing to work on for tomorrow," she tried to be the more reasonable one as always, but he didn't seem to care.

"You can always improvise," he stated as he continued placing kisses on her right arm, nearing her shoulder.

"And give Judge Kittleson a reason to roll her eyes at me again, no thank you. I like that woman, but she can be so scary at times."

"No one can roll her eyes better than you do," he said, raising his head for a short moment to look into her eyes.

"Stop complimenting me," she smiled, "And please let me just rest up for ten minutes before I can start working again."

"You don't have to do anything, just lay here and let me take care of you."

As his lips moved on to her neck, she was already feeling the warmth spreading through her body. He kept on caressing her skin down the neckline of her blouse, before he started opening the buttons. She should have stopped him after the first or the second the latest, because after the third button she didn't have the power to stop him anymore.

He knew too well how to make her forget about tiredness, kids and courtrooms in a split second and soon her suddenly movable hands reached for his head to pull his lips close to hers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Helen Gamble was famous for her closings, she just had this unique skill to easily convince the jury of her side of the story. It wasn't the first time Diane was a witness to this magic of the ASA, but each time it was annoying to see how the spell worked again. She could actually see jurors getting under the influence of what the long dark haired, white skinned, slim and elegant woman told them about the trial, the evidence and their own strategy. She managed to point out the holes in the latter so well that she quickly had to run through her notes again to make sure her closing would explain those properly.

The soft touch of his hand on hers made her look up to him and his lips curled up to an encouraging smile. She knew he would have offered to give the closing, but they had agreed in advance that the best strategy was to have her close. As a woman she was supposed to come down more effectively in the jury's eyes, taking the floor after the infamous ASA.

She returned the smile and as Helen took her seat she stood up to do her part of the job. She wasn't less slim or elegant than her opponent of course. Even as a mother she'd always took care of her figure, made sure to reach her original weight again and keep it with exercise. She needed to look her best at the workplace and in the courtroom, but she also needed to look her best for her husband.

Not because he wouldn't have loved her all the same had she gained some weight or dressed a little less fashionably, but it was a fact that he was a few years younger than her. She knew that this number didn't matter to either of them, but she still wanted him to always have a woman on his side that he could be proud of.

And he was definitely proud of her when she basically had the whole jury eating out of her hands by the end of her closing. She was capable of doing magic as well and she was hoping to have convinced them not to send an innocent man to prison for the rest of his life. As she walked back to her seat, she glanced in the ASA's direction, who obviously seemed worried at this point.

Even though they couldn't show it in the courtroom, they actually liked each other with the woman who was only a few years younger than her. Helen was smart and funny and one of the few people in the State's Attorney's Office who had never been sitting on a high horse. Of course she was cruel when it came to putting criminals away, but that resulted from her compassion for the victims. Out of work she was as normal as any lawyer could be and Diane and Will considered her a friend.

After Diane sat down, Judge Kittleson instructed the jury and while she was talking to them Will leaned closer to her ear.

"Amazing job," he whispered and she couldn't hide her smile.

Even after seven years of marriage it was still a pleasure for her to be appreciated by him.

o-o-o

"Stern wants to talk to me," he said as he put his phone away.

"Now?"

"Yes, he asked me to go over to the office during deliberation."

"I was hoping we could go somewhere else instead, I'd really love to finally show you something," she said even though she knew perfectly well there was nothing he could do, since Jonas Stern was a name partner of the firm.

"I'm sorry, I hope we will finish soon, I really can't wait to finally see my anniversary present."

She hadn't told him what the present was, she only told him he would have to see it with his own eyes, but they hadn't had the chance to visit it the previous day. She couldn't wait to finally show him the place where she imagined their future.

o-o-o

"Are you all right?" she asked when he entered her office about an hour later.

He clearly didn't look all right, she saw right away that he must have heard something agitating in that meeting.

"I'm fine," he obviously lied, although he should have known she wouldn't have believed him anyway.

"What did he want?" she tried to ask him calmly, but the expression on his face made her anxious as well.

"It's just a about a new case, nothing to worry about, really," he tried his best to sound calm, but she still thought that he wasn't telling the truth to her, "We really should go now, you know to that secret place," he added quickly.

For a moment she considered if she should start a fight about him lying to her or let it rest and wait until he comes up with the truth on his own. He barely kept things from her, so she figured he must have had a good reason to do so this time. She didn't like when he kept certain things to himself that slowly started to eat him up from the inside, because he just chose not to talk about them. She had tried to teach him how to open up, but sometimes he still ended up doing this again.

"Let's go then," she decided finally and chose to ignore the sign of relief on his face.

o-o-o

As they stepped out of the elevator on the 11th floor of the building first he didn't understand what was going on, he just stared at the empty rooms in front of him.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"We've been talking about this a few times and I thought there's no reason we should postpone it any longer, so I took the liberty and looked at a few places, until I found this one."

"I don't understand," he seemed a little perplexed.

"I thought this could be our future," she said smiling and took out a small board from her purse, "Welcome to Lockhart&Gardner," she showed up the board that had their names on it and she waited for his reaction, but he seemed to take things rather slowly that day.

"I…I don't know what to say," he finally said after a short pause.

"You don't like it? We could still look at more places together, I just thought I spare you the trouble, since you…" he gently placed his hand on her mouth for a short moment to shut her up.

"I love it," he finally said with smiling eyes and folded his arms around her waist, "Thank you, I have no idea what I would do without you," he said with the most loving voice and she finally started to smile again.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Thank you so much for the reviews! I love knowing what you think and that this story interests you.**_

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"So they didn't send your client to jail?"

Even though Emma was only six years old, she always showed particular interest in the work of her parents and Diane and Will had no choice but to always tell her something about a case they were working on, so they told her about today's verdict as well.

"No, he's free, he is home with his kids now."

"But he has killed someone."

"No Em, he didn't kill anyone, that's why he's free now. That's our job you know, to make sure innocent people don't go to jail."

"I want to be a lawyer too," the little girl said with dreaming eyes and Diane couldn't help smiling at her.

"I think it's a little too early to talk about it, you've just started elementary school. And if I remember correctly last week you wanted to be an actress."

"But lawyers are more important," Emma said decisively, which earned her another smile from her mother.

"And actresses are more popular," Will pointed out and for a moment Em looked confused when her brother – who obviously had no real idea what they were talking about at the dinner table, since he was definitely too young to understand – interfered.

"Can I go play now?"

"Just for a half an hour, sweetie, then daddy will bath you," Diane said as she started to gather the plates from the table.

"Ok," Nathan replied and disappeared in a minute.

"Let me help," Will stood up to take over her task and she was actually thankful for him, she felt particularly tired that night and she still had to check Emma's homework.

"Thank you," she said and kissed him shortly before turning back to their daughter who obviously had long forgotten if she wanted to be a lawyer or an actress, she was just looking at them, smiling.

"When I grow up I want to marry a man like daddy," she said and Diane had to try really hard not to chuckle.

o-o-o

"Are you going to tell me what Stern told you today?" she brought up the subject again that night, after the kids went to sleep.

She didn't want to fight, she just wished to know the truth and she was convinced he hadn't told her that.

"I already told you, it was about a new case, nothing important," he replied without even lifting his head from the book he was reading.

"But you seemed really agitated afterwards. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I'm sure," he stated and it seemed like he declared the conversation to be over.

"I'm going to take a shower now," she changed the subject quickly, deciding to give up on the previous topic, but she already started to think about how else she could get to know what had happened on that meeting.

o-o-o

The next morning when they arrived at work she couldn't help noticing the assistants' reaction when they passed by them. They suddenly stopped talking and sent curious looks in their direction. Will obviously didn't notice, he was still too sleepy to concentrate on the world around them. But she decided not to share it with him, because she guessed it had something to do with his mysterious meeting and she wanted to finally know the truth.

It didn't take long until she called her own assistant into her office that morning and openly asked her what was going on.

"I'm sorry, I really thought you knew," came the obvious answer.

She and Evelyn had become friends throughout the last year and she was obviously surprised Diane didn't know what all assistants seemed to know already.

"What should I know?"

"Stern&Holt are looking for a third name partner and Will is one of the equity partners they consider."

Diane was glad she was sitting, because she might have actually fainted hearing the words. It was all too understandable now why Will had chosen not to tell her about it. Still it hurt her that she had to get to know it this way. And it hurt her even more that the news shattered all her dreams at once.

"Is there any way I can help?" Evelyn asked and Diane just shook her head.

"Just please don't mention to Will that I know," she added.

She had no idea what to do now. It was obviously a great opportunity for Will, becoming a name partner of a well-known law firm. It would change his life a great deal, their life. On the other hand they'd been dreaming about their own firm for so long and just when they were about to take this huge step, life interfered. She could only imagine how Will must have felt, probably torn between the two possibilities and of course he had chosen not to burden her. She loved him for that, but hated him at the same time.

This was really something they had to discuss together and he was probably waiting for the right time to bring it up. Or maybe he'd chosen not to talk about it, because he had already made up his mind not to accept the offer. But she wasn't sure that would be the right decision on his side. She wanted them to have their own firm more than anything in the world, but she really couldn't expect him to make such a huge sacrifice for her.

It could take a while until their new firm started to run properly and bring profit, it would require lots of patience and resignation. It was a good alternative to their current situation, but compared to being a name partner of a top firm, choosing to open a no name firm sounded like a suicide to her.

She needed time to think it through, she needed to be alone for a while and most importantly she didn't want Will to see her like that. Because as much as she knew him, he knew her all the same, he would have easily told something was wrong had he seen her that moment. She decided to leave for a while to calm down before facing him again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Are you angry with daddy?"

Emma broke the silence of their family dinner that night and Diane was wondering what made her daughter ask that question. Maybe she was a little angry with Will for not telling her the truth, but she could also understand why he had chosen to remain silent. But she certainly tried not to show her anger, especially not in front of the children, she'd always made sure to leave them out of their occasional fights. But that wasn't the case this time.

"I'm not angry, why do you think so?" she asked, glancing in Will's direction for a short while, who was clearly waiting for her reply.

"Because you haven't talked to each other ever since daddy arrived home."

Diane didn't expect her six-year-old to pay attention to such details. She started to think back what had happened since Will had arrived home and she had to admit that her daughter was right.

"I just have too many things on my mind, work stuff you know, I'm not angry with daddy or anyone, you have nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?" the girl asked and she seemed a little worried indeed. Diane felt like going over to her to hug her, she needed a hug herself as well, but she chose not to overreact.

"Of course I'm sure," she replied and sent a desperate look in Will's direction to help her out and support her truth.

"Mommy has no reason to be angry with me, because I haven't done anything wrong," Will turned to his daughter and even though Diane didn't recognize a hidden message in his voice she still felt like it was addressed to her. Maybe he also found her silence suspicious, even though she'd tried not to show that something had been bothering her.

"I want proof," Emma insisted and both Diane and Will had to chuckle at this request, which clearly helped to ease the tension at the dinner table.

"What kind of proof?"

Emma looked at her for a short while, obviously thinking of a good answer, when she finally started to smile.

"A kiss," she said, but before Diane could react in any way the fourth member of the family interfered.

"Ewww."

"What?"

"Kissing is gross."

"No, it's not, you're just too stupid to understand."

"Emma," Diane raised her voice a little and her daughter's face changed at once.

"I'm sorry," she replied with guilt in her voice.

"You should apologize to your brother."

"I'm sorry," she repeated in Nathan's direction, who obviously didn't look hurt at all, instead he was already playing with his toys next to his plate again.

Emma looked back at Diane for confirmation that she wasn't angry with her anymore.

"So where's my kiss?"

Will's question made all of them chuckle again and Diane didn't hesitate much longer to fulfill the girl's request. She intended it to be a short kiss, but Will didn't let her move away so quickly.

"I believe you," Emma said happily as they pulled back from each other.

And even though she and Will had a really serious matter to discuss later that night, Diane knew it wouldn't change the most important thing that she would be sleeping in his arms afterwards.

o-o-o

"There's something I have to tell you," he said right when she came out of the bathroom after her shower later that night.

He had obviously been waiting for her and even though she wasn't less tired than the previous nights, she knew they really had to talk about a subject she would have brought up herself as well. She had no doubts that he wanted to talk about the same thing and she appreciated that he was the one who initiated the conversation.

"I'm listening," she replied, taking a step closer to him.

"Sit down," he suggested, reaching out his hand in her direction and when she took it, he pulled her down on their bed, facing him, "It's about that meeting with Stern, I…didn't tell you the truth," he started and let go off her hands.

"I figured," she admitted and of course he had expected no less.

"The truth is, he offered to make me a name partner at the firm," he finally said it out and just from the look on his face she saw how hard it actually was for him.

"I know," she replied, clearly surprising him with it.

"Since when?"

"This morning."

There was a moment of silence when they just looked into each other's eyes, trying to read the mind of the other.

"And you are not angry with me?" he asked and she had to smile a little, thinking back on what had happened at the dinner table.

"No, I'm not," she reassured him once more, "But you really should have told me," she did not use an accusative tone, she simply stated a truth. They were husband and wife for a reason, there shouldn't have been secrets between them and he knew that perfectly well.

"I know and I'm sorry, but the timing was…not the best."

His statement helped the conversation move on, it was finally time they talked about the actual consequences, it was no use wasting more time on something she had already forgiven him for. It was true that the timing of the offer couldn't have been worse, but it did not lessen the value of it and she felt like pointing it out right away.

"It's a fantastic opportunity."

"I know," he replied shortly and she could see that he wasn't entirely happy about it nevertheless.

"What did you tell him?"

"That I'm going to think about it," he gave the obvious answer and she started to feel the burden of this decision on her as well.

"How long do you have?"

"Until next Monday."

She knew he would soon ask her opinion on the matter, but she had already decided how to act when this moment came.

"You should sleep on it," she suggested, even though she knew he had already slept on it, it was her who needed a little more time to consume it.

"How do you feel about this?"

"I'm happy for you," she smiled and she was in fact proud of him, he'd earned this promotion.

"But this would technically mean that I became your boss," he grinned and she couldn't help chuckling a little.

"And you don't think I can handle that?"

"But that wasn't what we wanted," he changed back to a serious tone, "We wanted to be equals, the two only name partners of our own firm."

"A firm that could go down in no time and burry us underneath, it could be our ruin," she decided to focus on the worst, because this was the only way she could see the bright side of this whole situation. Even if it destroyed all their dreams, it could actually save them at the same time.

"Or it could be our success, we have it in us, I know we do."

Of course they had it in them, but there would always be circumstances they couldn't control and he knew that as well.

"I'm not sure it's wise to take such a risk when you're offered everything on a silver plate."

"But this would mean leaving you behind and you deserve to get to the top much more than I do."

"I can always open a firm on my own and kick your ass in court on each coming chance," she joked, even though the possibility of them not working together did seem rather scary to her. Partly because she loved that they could always spend some time together when they didn't have to concentrate on their parental duties and partly because they worked extremely well in a team, they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses and complemented each other perfectly.

"That wouldn't be the same," he said her thoughts out loud and for a moment they both stayed silent.

"You still have a few days, give it some time," she made the same suggestion she had started with, because it was probably the best thing they could do, hope that time would help them find the right answer.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

She couldn't ignore that both Jonas Stern and Stanley Holt forgot their eyes on her legs as she took a seat in their presence. She didn't mind this open admiration as long as it didn't cross a line, which was not entirely the case with one of these gentlemen. But she'd always managed to demand the necessary respect from both men and women, especially if that person was someone she had to work with on a regular basis.

She wasn't sure why she'd been called in to this sudden meeting that morning, but she'd suspected that it might have had something to do with Will and she was proven right.

"We just wanted to make sure there are no hard feelings," Jonas cut to the chase right away, "Choosing Will doesn't imply that you are less qualified."

"I know," she nodded and tried to show them with a short smile that she was all right with the situation.

"You know how these things work," Stanley started to explain, "We are on the same page with him. He is our guy and we'd love for him to accept the offer."

Of course Diane knew how the good old boys club worked and Will had always been a team player, it was just a matter of time for him to get ahead.

"It seems to us that he's hesitating," Jonas took over again, "Is there anything you could do to convince him?"

Diane hadn't really expected this request, but it seemed logical that they wanted her on the same page.

"It's his decision and of course I'll support him whatever he chooses to do," she gave the most polite answer she could think of. The rest was definitely none of their business.

"Fair enough," Stanley replied and looked at her for a short while before he added, "But just in case there's something you could do, we would be very grateful."

Diane wasn't in the need for their gratitude, in fact she couldn't care less about their motives, she had her family to think of, it was their future this decision was about.

"I can make no such promise," she underlined her previous statement and she could see that both men looked a little disappointed.

She found it rather disturbing that they even thought she had such power over Will and was willing to use it in their favor.

"All right, let's just hope he will deliver some good news to us next week," Jonas obviously closed the conversation and gave her a permission to go, but Diane looked at Stanley as well just in case, before she stood up and left the office, ignoring the thought that probably both men were looking at her behind as she walked away from them.

When she got back to her office, she closed the door, she needed the silence inside. The calmness she'd forced on herself during the meeting already disappeared and it slowly started to give its way to the feeling of dissatisfaction.

Part of her life meant being the supportive wife of the man she loved, nevertheless she still couldn't forget about her own ambitions that might have faded a little throughout the last years, but they were still inside of her. It was more than clear that she wouldn't have been able to get ahead had she stayed where she were, no matter how qualified she was to achieve more in her life. She would always be the wife of a name partner first that would constantly overshadow her other abilities.

Not to mention if Will had joined these two men he would have become one of them, they would always have control over him and sooner or later they would turn him into themselves. She wasn't so sure anymore that she wanted to stay there and wait for this to happen, she had much different ideas of a well functioning firm, where the power wasn't in the hand of men alone. She believed that for a good leadership both female and male peers were needed, that was the very idea of the new law firm they were about to found.

Ironically this meeting where Stern and Holt had tried to reassure themselves of her support, worked against them in the end. It made Diane realize why the road she and Will had originally wanted to go on was the only road for her in the future and why she had no more time to waste to achieve that dream, with or without Will.

o-o-o

"You and daddy are still not talking to each other?"

Diane turned back and despite the dark she could make out the face of her daughter who was supposed to be falling asleep already, but her eyes were wide open instead. She went up to her bed, sat down on the side and stroking her face gently she looked into her anxious eyes.

"Darling, you have to believe when I say you have nothing to worry about."

"So you are not going to divorce?" Em asked with fear in her voice.

"Divorce? No, we are not," she replied firmly, because no matter how unrealistic her question was, she knew it was probably very serious in her little head and she wanted to make her doubts disappear at once.

"Are you sure?"

Diane saw her daughter's uneasiness and she tried to think of a satisfying answer she could give her, without being accused of a lie later on, because she obviously couldn't promise that they would stay together forever.

"Of course I'm sure. Daddy and I couldn't be happier with you and Nat in our lives, we love you both very much and we will always be here for you."

After a short consideration Emma's lips curled up to a smile and she reached out her arms to fold them around Diane's neck. She pulled her close and gave a kiss on her cheek.

"I love you too, mommy," she said and Diane gave her a kiss in return.

"But now you really should sleep," she pulled away as the girl let go of her.

"Good night," she whispered and curled up on her side, "Give daddy another kiss from me."

"I will. Sweet dreams."

She closed the door behind her and stood there for a while, thinking about what had just happened. Emma was right after all, she didn't really talk much to Will that night either. It wasn't because she didn't have anything to tell him, right the contrary. She had something really important to tell him, she just wasn't sure how.

She wanted to tell him she would hand in her notice first thing on Monday, she just wasn't sure how to inform him of her decision, without him thinking it was sort of an ultimatum. She didn't want to influence his decision, but she didn't want to leave him in the dark either. She owed him honesty, he had the right to know the truth before he made up his mind about accepting the position.

She had never felt as selfish before as that night and it wasn't the best feeling, but she had made her decision already, to go through with her dream after all. And even though she couldn't ask him to do so, she was now secretly hoping he would not let her go on that road alone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

She sat down on her side of their bed and a few seconds later she felt his hands on her shoulders, massaging them through the fabric of her dressing gown.

"You must be exhausted," he said compassionately as his firm hands moved from her shoulders down her upper arms and her back.

"It was a long week," she replied, stretching her back and she truly enjoyed the way his hands pampered her, but she didn't wait long to talk to him again, "Em asked me if we are going to divorce," she chose the topic that was safer to start with.

"What? Why would she think that?" he asked and his hands disappeared under her robe to caress her skin directly, which gave her shivers all over, but she knew she couldn't indulge in their intimacy just yet, so she tried to control herself the best she could.

"She might have heard other children talk about it in school and she's become quite observant lately, it's not so easy to hide things from her anymore, she's beginning to grow up."

"We're not hiding anything from her."

"I know, but she thinks we are, I don't like to see her worried, it's a little too early for that"

"Have you managed to convince her that she's wrong?"

"I tried, I hope I have," she couldn't be sure, but she wanted to be more cautious in the future to make her daughter forget about her unsettling thoughts.

"Good, because divorcing you is definitely not on my mind at all right now," he said slowly as he started to pull off her gown and placed one kiss after the other on her bare skin.

She already regretted that she hadn't stopped him right after he'd started, because his movements were getting more and more distracting and they still had a very important question to talk about that night.

"Will?"

"Huh?"

She hesitated just shortly, but still long enough that he managed to move his lips on her neck and she already felt the danger of losing control any second. She knew it would be wrong to hide her decision from him for a night, but there was also a huge temptation to banish every work related thought from her head for a short while. Tomorrow would be just as good to talk about their future.

"Em asked me to give you something," she made her decision and turned her head to the side to look at him.

"What?"

She moved closer to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"She told me to give you a kiss from her," she said as she pulled back.

"Are you sure she said one?" he asked playfully, still looking at her, his hands resting on her almost bare shoulders, which were only covered by the straps of her nightdress.

"I'm pretty sure, yes," she nodded, smiling.

"And I'm pretty sure she'd be happy to know you decided not to stop after one kiss, I mean I do deserve more, right?"

She looked into his laughing eyes and she obviously wasn't able to deny anything from him at that moment. She leaned forward to kiss him once more and she intended to only kiss his cheek again just to tease him, but he turned the very last minute and she ended up kissing his lips instead.

And once their lips touched his hands started to fondle her skin again and there was no way back anymore. Not that she wanted anything else at that moment but to be loved by him.

o-o-o

He was usually fast asleep when she woke up on a regular Saturday morning, but this time she found him staring at the ceiling when she opened her eyes.

"Hey," she said silently, turning to her side in his direction and he looked at her with a short smile.

"Good morning," he replied and leaned close to her for a kiss.

"You should be fast asleep," she noted, although she had an idea what might have caused his early awakening.

"I have too many things on my mind," he was staring at the ceiling again as he said these words, he was obviously deep in thoughts.

"I know, but you still have some time to make that decision."

He stayed silent for a short while, before turning back to her.

"You have no idea how much I'd love to just deny their offer and leave it all behind with you," his words made her smile and for a moment she wanted to just tell him to do it, even though she knew she couldn't, especially because he still hesitated, "But something holds me back," he added and she was perfectly aware of how difficult this situation was.

"I understand, it's not that simple."

"Opening a new firm is a risk," he echoed the words she'd said herself the other night and it felt like a role reversal to her already with her current feelings, "We have to think of the children, we can't just chase out dreams anymore, we have responsibilities."

He actually sounded more adult than ever and she should have appreciated that at least one of them approached the question from this aspect, but his thoughts contradicted the feelings she had a hard time hiding from him already.

"It's not about chasing dreams, it's about taking chances, accepting more responsibilities, creating something that will always belong to us and our children," she might have sounded too enthusiastic, but she really felt it was time they stepped on their own feet, took their luck in their own hands to make Emma and Nathan proud of them one day.

"You make it sound so reasonable," was all his remark and she felt like explaining her sudden change.

"I know I concentrated on the downside of it the other night, but that was only because I didn't want to influence you in any way and I still don't, I just…" she still hesitated, but she knew she had no other choice but to tell him about her decision however hard it was to say it out loud.

"You what?"

"I feel that I cannot stay where I am anymore, I've taken some steps forward already and I want to keep going on that road," she looked at him anxiously as he tried to comprehend the meaning of her statement.

"I see," he finally said after a long pause, "So I either jump with you or stay behind and have your back?"

He summed it up perfectly, it was actually this simple. If he joined her they might end up losing everything together, if he stayed behind he would become their safe harbor, but that would mean going on separate ways.

"I have to try this, it's the right time, I will never be more prepared than I am right now," she was determined, nothing he said could have changed her mind anymore.

"Looks like you've already made your decision," he made a right observation and she couldn't tell how he felt about it just yet.

"Are you okay with it? Even if you decide to stay behind?" she asked, fearing his reply a little, she needed his consent, after all it was their life she chose to put at stake for her own good.

"How could I not be okay with it? If anyone is able to do it, it's you," came the encouraging reply, accompanied with a smile and she could only have been happier if he had said he would go with her on that road no matter what, because she simply trusted her guts that something they'd planned for so long could only turn out good in the end.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"I think we are being watched," she whispered into her husband's ear and Will waited a few seconds before he turned his head a little in the direction of the kitchen door.

"Maybe she's hungry," he replied silently and Diane chuckled over the frying pan, trying to hide her amusement.

"I think she still needs proof that we're not going to divorce," she mumbled.

"I don't think there could be any doubts, I mean if walls could talk," he whispered and she shook the fork in his direction as a slight warning that he should be cautious about his words.

He didn't take her seriously though and stepped right behind her, folding his arms around her waist.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to ignore his motions and concentrate on the content of the pan in front of her.

"Hugging my wife, to show how much I love her," he breathed into her ear and she automatically moved closer to him, obeying his embrace.

"I think we're safe already," she replied after enjoying his closeness for a short while.

"Give it a few more minutes," he suggested, obviously not wanting to let go of her yet.

"You should be cutting those vegetables," she ordered, but he just shrugged it off.

"I don't care. Who likes vegetables anyway?"

"Now you're being childish," she smiled, but didn't really make a move to force him to do anything.

"But you love me even if I am," he challenged her and she was careful not to show any emotion, "Come on, admit it," he insisted and she lowered her gaze to the stove to avoid his look.

"I won't encourage your childlike behavior," she tried to hide her smile, but it was rather impossible with him being so close to her.

"But I won't release you until you say it," he persisted and she didn't really mind it, because she loved being held by him that way.

"Okay," she nodded, but still denied to say the words.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, while she finished with the meat, although he showed his impatience once in a while with placing kisses on her neck, making her reconsider to just spill out the words, because she didn't need this distraction at that moment, definitely not with their daughter probably still watching.

"I need those vegetables now," she claimed, placing the pan aside from the stove and turned around in his arms.

"You just have to say the words," he smiled, holding her even closer.

She looked him in the eye and for a moment she forgot about the lunch, the vegetables, his childish behavior and her daughter hiding behind the door.

"I love you," she finally declared and sealed her words with a kiss both of them had been longing for in the last few minutes.

They were interrupted by a pair of arms that folded around their legs. They pulled back and looked on there side, where their daughter were standing, hugging both of them tight and looking up to them smiling. Will bent down to take Em into his arms and gave her a kiss.

"Now, we're gonna help mommy chop those vegetables."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

The next day it was him who cooked the meal and she was his help. This arrangement seemed to work fine on each weekend, they were equals even when it came to dividing housework. Ever since the morning she'd noticed some change in his behavior, especially compared to the previous day and she couldn't think of any other explanation only that he must have made up his mind already about their future.

She was eager to know his decision, but she didn't want to urge him in any way, he had to have all the time he needed to tell her at his convenience.

"Can we talk?" he broke the silence that had surrounded them for a few minutes and he sounded rather serious.

"Of course," she said, placing down the knife from her hand, indicating that she was ready to turn her full attention to him.

"I've thought about it a lot, this opportunity and how it would affect us, what could be the consequences if I say no and I think I have to accept, because that is the smart thing to do."

He didn't take his eyes off her, not for a second, he obviously didn't want to miss her reaction. She had tried to prepare herself for this reply, because she had known it would be a little hard to handle, even if she understood why he would make that particular choice that he did in the end.

She was disappointed of course, on the other hand she couldn't blame him for choosing the safe path, especially because she knew he wasn't only thinking of himself, but her and the children as well.

"Say something," he nervously reminded her that she hadn't reacted yet and she chose the most obvious way to reflect her emotions, which was a smile.

"You're right," she finally found the words to say, "That is the smart thing to do."

One day ago she had felt like telling him not to accept the offer and just go with her on the other road, but now that she knew his answer all she could do was support it and try to think of how to go on from here, alone.

"I'm doing this for all of us, I want to be there for you, provide for you so you can achieve your dream, because I believe in you."

She was thankful that he let her do this on her own, even though she would have preferred it with him on her side, because it surely wouldn't be the same without him.

"I know," she said as she softly ran her hand on his cheek and leaned forward to kiss him.

She soon felt his hand on hers and after their lips parted he placed a kiss in her palm.

"I'm going to help you in any way I can," he promised and she smiled at him again.

"Thank you," she softly squeezed his hand that was still holding hers before she pulled it back and reached for the knife.

Her gaze fell on the onions in the bowl in front of her and without hesitation she chose to start chopping those next. As the knife was hitting the board her mind went to the offices she'd planned to rent for their new firm, with her and his offices facing each other, separated by a short corridor where their assistants would have been sitting. They could have seen each other through the glass walls, they could have been together all day, fighting for the same causes. It would be painful to give that office to anyone else, because no one deserved it as much as he did.

She soon noticed tears falling from her eyes, but she knew better than to wipe them with her hands, she just let them run down her cheek, trying to hide her face from him. But it didn't take long until she felt his hands on her cheek, literally wiping away her tears.

"These damn onions," she forced a smile on her face and put down the knife to search for something to dry her face with.

But before she could reach anything he folded his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"Everything's going to be fine," his voice sounded soothing and he moved his lips close to her cheek to kiss away the rest of the tears.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

She heard footsteps nearing the office, so she turned in the direction of the door and saw Will entering.

"Are you ready?" he asked with no sign of impatience in his voice. It was her last day after all, she needed to take a proper goodbye from the place.

"You mean to walk out the door of the firm I've worked for my whole life?" she sounded a little sad, despite the fact that she was excited about the new firm, the new responsibility, but it was still hard to leave something important behind, "Give me a few more minutes."

"I'm taking those to the car," he replied, pointing to the boxes on the table and stepped inside to approach them.

"Will?"

"Hm?" he took a box into his hands and looked at her.

"Tell me that I'm doing something insane that I should just be content with what I have and live the life I lived before," she didn't want to over dramatize the situation, but she needed to hear something reassuring from him at that moment to help her walk out that door with her head high and possibly without tears in her eyes.

He put down the box again and moved closer to her.

"You're doing something brave, something you've always wanted to do. This is a new beginning for you and I know that you're going to do a fabulous job."

He knew exactly what she wanted to hear and she was more than grateful for his words.

"I know that I wouldn't be able to do this without you," she smiled at him and reached out her hand in his direction, which he took and stepped right in front of her.

"Nonsense, you'd already be on the top without me, I've been holding you back."

"Don't say that, you've made my life complete, I wouldn't trade what we have for anything in the world."

She was sure he'd already known this, but she needed him to hear it again and she was glad to see him smile as he folded his arms around her and pulled her close.

"This firm won't be the same without you, I won't be the same without you, I'll miss you each and every day."

His confession might have sounded pathetic, but she felt the exact same way, so she couldn't blame him for saying it out loud.

"We can tell each other each and every night how much we miss one another."

He replied with a passionate kiss, leaving no doubt that he supported the idea.

"I'll see you in the car," he said after he let go off her and took the boxes into his hands.

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Just take your time."

She took a look around for the last time, trying to bring every memory with her. An important part of her life was over that night, tomorrow she was going to start a new chapter in a bigger and nicer office that she'd furnished to her own taste. She loved her new home already it was just hard to say goodbye.

When she was finally on her way out she found her assistant still working at her desk.

"Tomorrow's going to be a big day for both of us," she smiled at the young woman.

She was glad Evelyn had accepted her job offer and would accompany her to the new firm. She needed someone she could trust to be on her side and they'd worked well together so far, it had been one of her earliest decisions to win her for herself.

"I'm ready. David will be here soon to help me with my things and then we're out of here," she sounded relieved and Diane was glad to see one of them being all positive about this change in their lives.

"You should bring him to the party tomorrow," she suggested, since she hadn't had the chance to meet Evelyn's fiancé yet and the office-warming party seemed like a good opportunity.

"He doesn't really like these gatherings."

"Tell him I insist," she replied, kind of using the boss card for the first time, which made her feel just a little happier.

"I will," she smiled, obviously appreciating her attentiveness.

"See you tomorrow."

"Have a good night."

"You too."

She took a quick look back at the corridor then walked to the elevators and as she stepped inside she started to smile. It wasn't such a sad day after all, because it held the promise of tomorrow.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

She sensed his bad mood right away when they were alone for the first time that night. She had been too busy focusing on the importance of the evening before and maybe he had also tried to hide his feelings from her, but it only lasted until the guests of the party disappeared and the offices became empty and quiet again.

She had no idea what had happened, he had seemed fine before, even though it had been hard for both of them to survive their first day apart. She had wanted to call him several times, for an advice or just to hear his voice. She'd been used to stepping by his office any time she'd felt like talking to him about something, but everything was different now.

She'd been happy to see him show up for the party, to feel his support all night, but later the expression on his face made her think she had done something wrong, something he didn't exactly approve of.

"Have I done something wrong?" she gave voice to her suspicions and he didn't seem surprised hearing her question.

"What was he doing here, Diane?"

She knew who he was referring to right away. Christopher Wilson, the lawyer she used to date around the time Will had entered her life.

"He is looking for a job and I'm offering some," she stated simply, she had no reason to hide anything.

"For him?"

"For good lawyers with client lists and he has the advantage of both. I cannot be picky just yet."

"But him of all people? You seriously want him to work for you? I bet he still holds a grudge against me."

She honestly hadn't even considered what Will would think of her hiring Chris, she had only thought of the benefits it would have for the firm. It had been long over between them, even before her and Will had gotten serious. She never doubted that she would be able to handle this situation and she never thought Will would think differently, his reaction surprised her.

"Just like you seem to hold one against him, except you have no reason to, I have chosen you after all."

"I don't trust him around you."

"You should just trust me. I really don't get why you're making such a big deal of this."

She clearly lost her patience a little, it was kind of baffling where all this was coming from. She had never given him a reason for this lack of trust.

"It's hard for me, I feel like I'm losing you already to your new life."

He tried to explain his behavior and even though she still didn't understand his reasoning, she tried to hit some more intimate tone.

"The only life I have is the one I share with you and nothing's going to change that."

She thought this statement would satisfy him, but he seemed to have gone too deep with his unjustified jealousy already to be calmed down that easily.

"It has already changed."

His reply made her feel helpless and angry at the same time and the latter quickly took over. He had no right to do this to her with made-up reasons.

"I won't let you ruin this important day for me, I thought we would celebrate tonight then you start with all this nonsense."

Her sudden harsh tone seemed to finally have some effect on him.

"I'm sorry, it's far from me to ruin your big night. I just wanted to point out that you might be making a mistake here."

"If it turns out to be a mistake then I give you the permission to tell me you told me so. But I'm sure everything's going to be fine. We are both adults and he knows perfectly well that I belong to you."

She tried to sound as firm as possible and he seemed to be listening this time

"And you won't give him my office?"

His question made her chuckle and she was relieved to hear the change in his tone.

"I don't think you have an office here, not that I know of," she teased, even though they both knew too well that the empty office on the other side of the corridor was still looking for its owner, she hadn't been able to offer it to anyone yet.

"Who knows? It might change again soon. Jealous men can do crazy things," he said with a smile and stepped closer to her.

"William Gardner. If you plan to make decisions based on imaginary reasons then I'm not sure I ever want you as my business partner."

"If I ever decide to jump on board that will have one reason only, love. Because I'd love to be with you all the time," he put his arms around her and she simply couldn't stay angry with him any longer.

"Then we shouldn't waste our valuable time together on silly arguments."

"I'm sorry," he apologized again and she replied with a kiss that showed him how much she'd missed him, how much she wanted to be with him and that he had no reason at all to feel threatened by any other man.

And he seemed to believe her.


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: this chapter is M rated!**_

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

They had the house all for themselves that night and on the rare occasions this had happened it had been hard to handle the silence that had greeted them inside, but that night was different. She missed the children just like every time they were apart, but ironically the person she missed the most that night was the one who entered the door with her.

The last weeks had been quite rough on them, keeping her busy balancing her old job with building up her new firm. Not only hadn't she mentioned to Will who she'd planned to hire, many other tings had been left unsaid. He had been forced to take up some of her tasks at home as well, like making dinner or reading bedtime stories for the kids, because she had been busy with phone calls and paperwork and she had often spent her evenings in her new office after having spent the day working as usual.

They had been through some extremely trying weeks and he had stood by her through all this time, helping in any way he could and she was more than grateful for everything he had done for her already, even though it was clearly just the beginning. There had been times when she had thought what she had been doing was insane, she shouldn't have put herself first and her family second, but Will had always encouraged her and the kids had done the same in their own ways.

Especially Emma who had been more than willing to help. She had considered this as an adventure and had spent a few evenings with Diane in the new offices doing her homework while Diane and Evelyn had been busy working extra hours to bring life into the place. There had been so many things to take care of so that they would have been able to call the offices a home by that day.

But for the first time in weeks she didn't have any other evening plans than to celebrate with her husband, something he had almost ruined an hour ago. She could only hope she'd managed to drive away his jealous thoughts, but she wanted to make sure they wouldn't come forward again. She knew she had to make amends with the children as well during the following weekend, but that night she only wanted to think of one person, who had stood by her and encouraged her in every possible way and was there to share her happiness.

The living room that was usually filled with the toys the children left behind was invitingly tidy that night and instead of heading upstairs to their bedroom, Diane decided to lump down the couch right away.

"Come here," she reached out her hand in his direction and he didn't hesitate to obey her wish.

When he grabbed her hand, she pulled him closer and soon their lips united in a passionate kiss.

"We should drink to your victory," he said, distancing his face from hers and stepped back, still holding her hand.

"I don't need anything else," she replied and pulled him close again for another kiss that left no doubt about how exactly she wanted to celebrate that night.

Her hand let go off his and she folded her arms around his neck, pulling him with her as she turned a little and laid down the couch with him on top of her. She helped him out of his jacket that ended on the ground the next minute, but neither of them cared about the mess they were going to create in the room where usually their children did the same. His tie followed his jacket and she soon started to unbutton his shirt, while his hands were already under her skirt, trying to pull it upwards.

After she threw his shirt on the ground, she reached for his pants right away, but he got hold of her hands and placed them aside on the couch. He leaned closer for a kiss, but the minute her hands were on him again he pulled away and adjusted them to their previous position. Then his lips moved to her neck and he kept kissing her skin while his hands started to unbutton her blouse.

She once again tried to wrap her arms around him, but he grabbed her hands again, forcing them back on the couch, so she decided to give up and enjoy his lips caressing her skin. Soon her chest was only covered by her bra and several moans left her mouth as his lips moved downwards on her upper body.

Her skirt was still an obstacle for him, but his hands disappeared under it and he managed to pull down her stockings, with his warm hands touching every inch of her bare legs. After the stockings left her body, his lips made her way up her legs and it got harder and harder for her to bear his pampering without touching him in any way. She wanted to grab him by the hair and force him to stop being so selfless and let her have her share as well, but instead she chose to use her hands to unbutton her bra first and throw it on the ground herself.

The temptation of her breasts was something he couldn't say no to, both his hands and his lips moved there in an instant and he didn't interfere when her hands reached for him again. She dig into his hair then moved her palms alongside his back, leaving marks with her nail as he made her lose her breath over and over again with his touch.

When she finally reached his pants again she tried to open them, but his hands soon interfered and he rid himself of his own trousers quickly, before he lay back on her, their lips touching again to unite in a passionate kiss while his hands were under her skirt already, pulling down her panties.

Their bodies soon moved to the same rhythm and they didn't need to silence their pleasure this time, they were free to express the feeling of joy that the other's presence meant in those moments.

And after resting up a bit in each other's arms she decided to take over, forcing him to switch places with her and everything started all over again, because this day needed to be celebrated and remembered.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"What's going on over there? You are too silent," Diane looked into the rearview mirror again to check on the kids.

She wasn't used to not hearing their voices during a car drive, except when they were sleeping, but that usually only happened on their way back. It was too early for them to sleep, even lunchtime was still far away.

"We're fine," Emma replied, clipping the words and it made Diane suspicious.

"Do you have something in your mouth?" she leaned backwards to look at her daughter who quickly turned her head in the other direction.

"No," she replied shortly.

"Look at me and open your mouth," she ordered, already suspecting what was going on.

Emma slowly turned in her direction and instead of opening her mouth she spit something into her palm.

"Here," she said, holding out her hand and Diane quickly took out a tissue and grabbed the small white thing with it.

"What have I told you about gums?"

"That you don't like them."

"I don't like finding them glued under the table or inside the wardrobes, not to mention your clothes and books."

"I'm not doing that anymore."

"Because we are not giving you gums anymore. Where did you get this?"

"I found it."

"Where?"

"In daddy's drawer."

"What were you doing in my drawer?" Will interfered with slight indignation in his voice.

"Why? Are you hiding something in there?" Diane turned to him curiously.

"Just gums," he shrugged.

"You're setting a nice example," she smiled, but already forgot her anger. She bent down to her bag and took out an apple, "Why don't you eat this instead?" she offered the fruit to her daughter who just made a face.

"No, thank you."

"Ok," she replied and bit into the apple herself, "You want a bite?" she held it out towards Will who also took a bite. She wanted to compliment him for setting a good example, but she knew he didn't really like apples himself, so she didn't want to push it.

"Are we there yet?" Nat sounded impatient, but it was understandable because they had been sitting in the car for more than an hour now.

"Almost there buddy," Will replied, glancing in the mirror before turning his attention back to the road again.

They planned to spend the weekend out of town, because Will thought it was the only way to keep her away from the new office. Normally she would have protested it, but she knew they needed some family time after what they had been through during the last weeks because of her.

"You should have left that damn thing at home," Will sounded a bit frustrated when her phone started to ring again and this was the third time during their drive. He would have made her leave her phone at home as well if he had been able to, but no matter how much he wanted her to leave work behind he knew he wasn't safe either, unexpected calls belonged to both of their lives.

"Yes?" she answered her phone, intending to make it quick this time. It was Evelyn, who spent the morning in the office, where she should have been as well. She had a guilty conscience, but it wouldn't have been different had she been there and not with her family that day.

"I'm sorry to bother you, I just wanted to let you know that the flower stands you've ordered finally arrived and they look incredible. I think we're officially ready to open."

"Perfect. Will you take a photo for me?"

"They are already in your mailbox."

"Thank you," she really appreciated how Evelyn seemed to read her mind most of the time.

"Is it Evelyn? Can I talk to her for a sec?"

Diane was surprised to hear Will interfere in their conversation, but she saw no harm in putting her cell on speaker, she knew Evelyn and Will got on well with each other.

"Will wants to tell you something, so I'll put you on speaker."

"Sure."

"Hey, I know I'm not your boss anymore, but it's the weekend already and I'm sure you have better things to do then sit around in an empty office while your boss is having fun out here with us."

"It's ok, I'm heading home shortly, I just needed to make sure we're all set for our first day on Monday."

"Good, that was what I wanted to hear."

"I promise not to call again."

"I appreciate it," Will replied and Diane rolled her eyes as she switched her phone back from speaker mode.

"Just call me if anything comes up, don't listen to him," she tried to ignore Will's reaction, who was most likely more than ready to just throw her phone out of the car in front of them and smash it, "And thank you for everything. Have a great weekend, see you on Monday!"

"You too. Bye."

"Bye," she hung up and turned to her husband with her phone in her hand, "Was it really necessary?"

"Yes. It's not like the office won't be there on Monday."

"But my flower stands have arrived, wanna look at them?" she opened her mailbox to check out the photos.

"I have seen them already before you ordered them."

"But these are different, because they are mine," she said, looking proudly at the photos. She had been in love with those flower stands from the moment she had laid eyes on them. It had taken her forever to find what she'd been looking for and it had seemed like forever to finally get them, but they were there already, they were officially ready to launch this boat.

"You know I'm happy for you and for your flower stands," Will replied in a more relaxed tone, it must have affected him how happy she was about the new delivery.

"And you promise not to interfere with my business again?"

"You haven't even opened yet, but you make that girl work on the weekends already."

"No, I don't. It was her choice, you heard her, she wanted to make sure we are all set."

"So now that you are _all set_, can you turn off your phone, pretty please?"

"You know I can't do that."

"But that is what we want, right guys?"

"Riiiight!" the kids shouted from behind and although Diane thought it wasn't fair to involve the kids in this, she knew it was probably time to forget about work for a short while.

"What about I turn off the sound and I'll only check it in each hour?"

Will took a few seconds to consider her offer before he replied.

"Deal, but I want that thing out of my sight now."

"Just let me take another look at my new flower stands first," Diane said and it made Will chuckle.

"So what do you guys say if mommy sang with you for the rest of the ride? Time will fly by this way."

"Yaaaay!" came the enthusiastic reply from both sides and Diane couldn't help chucking herself.

"So what do you want us to sing first?" she asked as she hid her phone in her purse and intended to keep her promise not to have a look at it for at least an hour, maybe more.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Only his sudden arrival reminded her of how late it actually was and they were still not done for that day. And only the displeased look on her husband's face made her realize that she probably shouldn't have let him see her like that, working in tête-à-tête with a certain male associate of her firm.

"Could you give us five minutes?" she tried to ease the tension with a smile, but he didn't smile at all as he nodded and turned around.

She followed him with her eyes as he looked around before he walked to the office on the other side of the corridor. She wouldn't have minded if he had gone inside, that was his office after all, even though it wasn't likely he would occupy it anytime soon. As far as she knew he enjoyed his current position at the firm that now he was able to call kind of his own and lately they hadn't even so much as mentioned the possibility of him leaving that behind to join her.

And that was exactly why they had plans for dinner that day, because they simply needed at least one evening out, just the two of them, each week, to try to at least make up for all the time they weren't able to spend together anymore. He came to pick her up and she had been looking forward to it and she silently cursed herself for not having been smart enough to have let her coworker go before his arrival.

"You probably want me to disappear now, right?" she heard Chris' voice that made her turn her focus away from the man who actually entered that glass door over there.

"We could continue tomorrow morning."

"Sure. You have plans for tonight?"

His question was as casual as it could be, she still didn't feel comfortable discussing their plans with him. Especially not with her husband probably watching her every move.

"Yes," she said quickly and started to put the files from the table into her suitcase, initiating that as far as she was concerned the conversation was over.

"Well, see you tomorrow then," he replied, quickly following her lead in packing his files away before he walked out the door with a "Good night" which Diane returned before she turned her attention back to Will.

When she was sure that Chris had already left she walked over to the other office, leaving her things behind on her desk.

"I know I shouldn't be in here, it's just that I had a rough day and for a moment I just wanted to pretend this is my office."

"This is your office," she replied with a smile and she was happy to see his lips curl up as well, "I'm sorry about your day," she said, stepping closer to him, "If it's any consolation my day was quite terrible as well."

"Really? Then we couldn't have chosen a better evening to spend together," he reached out his hand to pull her closer to him.

"Nothing like a dinner with you to cheer up a lousy day," she replied and leaned forward to greet him properly with a kiss.

He kissed her back and she could tell that he really wasn't angry at her for what had happened earlier and it just made her even happier. And he didn't let the kiss end, his lips just kept on tasting hers while his hands not only pulled her close, they also started to make their way up and down her back.

He seemed to have forgotten about where they actually were, because his lips wandered from her lips onto her neck and down the neckline of her dress and his hands felt ready to open the zipper on her back in any moment.

"We can't do this here," she tried to make him stop with her words, but he didn't seem to listen to her.

His hands moved down her dress and they disappeared under her skirt. She had a hard time standing on her two feet already, but she was still aware that it was something that shouldn't happen there, she had to make him stop, even if it wasn't what she really wanted. As he pushed her to a wall, which was the only possible support in the empty office, besides the floor, she quickly considered if it was too late to back away and she decided that it wasn't so she raised her voice a little.

"Will, please!"

He stopped right away and looked curiously in her eyes.

"It's not the right place," she said softly this time and he nodded slightly in understanding before she kissed her on the lips again gently.

"What do you say if we skip dinner this time?" he asked as he let her stand on her feet securely again, removing his hands from her body.

"I love the idea," she kissed him one last time and took his hand to guide him outside.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

They hardly got into the elevator when she already regretted that she'd stopped him earlier. She yearned for his kisses, the touch of his hands on her skin. She hadn't cut him short because she hadn't wanted him as much as he had wanted her, she just really preferred to do it in complete privacy.

"You have no idea how much I desire you right now," she said the words silently, with her lips close to his ear as they were standing next to each other in the small box.

"This is not helpful," he replied, his eyes focusing on the ground, "One of us has to be able to drive that car home as soon as humanly possible. Unless you want to do it in there."

"In the car?" she asked, chuckling shortly, "I thought we are past that already."

As far as she remembered it had only happened three times so far and two of those had been before their marriage.

"I still can't control myself around you sometimes, no matter where we are," he admitted, looking at her shortly, before he bent his head down again, "And seeing you with him only made it more unbearable."

She wasn't surprised that he brought Chris up, she had counted with this statement much sooner actually. It had been hard to miss that look on his face earlier when he had found them in each other's company.

"We are just working together," she tried to sound calm, because she really didn't feel like entering into a debate about him again.

"I know, but he gets to see you all day," he sounded quite like a kid as he said this, which made Diane smile

"He doesn't get to see me all day and stop whining, it was your decision after all."

Her last words might have sounded a little more serious than they should have, even though deep in her heart she couldn't help feeling a little sad sometimes, thinking about how much different this whole experience could have been with him on her side.

"I know, which I deeply regret already."

She knew he did regret it sometimes, but she also knew that he shouldn't have. He had made a really hard decision back then and she was actually thankful for him. She wouldn't have been able to achieve this without his support and she didn't want him to feel bad about it.

"I won't fall for that, I know you love where you are," she smiled.

"Not as much as I love being with you."

He leaned forward to kiss her as the elevator stopped and she was grateful for the interruption, because they still had a car drive ahead of them.

o-o-o

Their way home felt more like a nightmare as she tried her best to focus on the road. Even though he did keep his hands off her during the ride, she just couldn't help wishing to feel them on her body. Truth was that sometimes she couldn't control herself around him either and with this wait they had already passed her endurance limit.

They got out of the car as the garage door closed behind them and they only had to walk through the other door to finally enter the house. He waited for her to get next to him, probably so that she could enter the door first, but instead of placing her hand on the handle, she practically threw herself at him, pushing him to the wall.

This was probably her way of trying to make up for not having given in to him earlier and he didn't hesitate long to return her passion. Next thing she knew she was pushed backwards and soon her body was pressed against the car and his hands made the same moves on her body as they had only a half an hour ago.

There was no more possibility of a rain check, they were in a private place, without the possibility of being disturbed. And even though it didn't make too much of a difference from the empty office or the car seats, she didn't care about where they were anymore. All she cared about was getting what she'd been hungry for too long already and finally giving him what he wanted.

They didn't even bother to get rid of any clothes, their hands found their way to the other's skin nevertheless. And the wait was over before they knew it, he finally moved inside of her, while his lips responded to hers. Their hunger was stilled in the most satisfying way and she finally had no more regrets that night.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

"Hey," he greeted her with a smile, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table.

"You're late," she replied and took another sip of her coffee.

"I'm sorry," he leaned forward to place a kiss on her lips, which kind of made her forgive him for the wait, "It's only 5 minutes," he added when he checked his watch then reached for the coffee cup that had been waiting for him.

"You want to tell me it's ok to be late from a business meeting with only five minutes?" she asked in a less serious tone.

"Is it a business meeting?" he looked confused and she started to wonder if he had paid attention at all to what she'd told him on the phone about an hour ago.

"Of course it is, I told you so."

"I thought you were joking, that it was a code or something?

"A code for what?" she chuckled a little.

"I don't know," he smiled and for a moment she wasn't sure they would actually be able to turn this into a business meeting, but he prove her wrong, "So what kind of a business do we have that is so urgent?"

She appreciated his question, especially because she really felt like finally getting this off her chest. She took out a piece of paper from her file case and handed it to him.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, after taking one look at the paper, which was of course familiar to him, since it was signed by him.

"From the client," she said simply, her eyes never leaving his, she wanted to see all his reactions.

"Does this mean that they are...your clients?"

"Yes, since last week."

"Are you serious?"

She understood why he asked this in the tone he did, she wasn't really proud of taking that particular company on as a client, but she couldn't be picky in her current situation.

"You know perfectly well that I can't really afford turning down well-paying clients right now."

"But we won two cases against this company together."

"I know and that is exactly why they've chosen me. You represent some of their biggest competitors on the market and they simply want to profit from my knowledge, the part which is not bound by confidentiality of course."

"Makes sense," he nodded, "We should have seen this coming, right? Clients wanting to play us against each other," he said her biggest concern out loud, it was a delicate situation.

"We can handle this, right? I mean do you think it will be a problem? Because if so, we can figure something out."

"No, it's cool. I've already fantasized about beating you in court, maybe this dream will come true one day."

"Or it won't. I mean do you really want to go to court with this case?"

"Was this question part of the negotiations? Should I pay attention to my words from now on?"

"No," she smiled at him and was relieved that they managed to get to an understanding so easily, "We will schedule an official meeting for next week, I'm done with business for now."

"Then let me kiss you again," he said, leaning close to her once more, "I love you and we will get through this, who knows, it might actually be fun."

"You know, you really should start taking your job seriously."

"Why? Isn't law a game?" he asked chuckling and this time she was the one kissing him.

"I love you too, but I have to run now. You're picking up the kids today, right?"

"Sure. Just for the record, I take my parental duties seriously."

"I know you do, thank you" she kissed him one last time before she walked away with a smile on her face.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Diane wasn't sure she would still find the kids awake, she was late and it had happened too often lately, that she missed their bedtime. It was hard with the new firm, not being able to share the responsibilities with anyone and she already knew this couldn't have gone on like that for too long.

She checked on Nat first, he was already asleep and of course his blanket was resting on the ground, so she covered him with it again and gave him a kiss. She was feeling guilty for not spending enough time with him lately, she could only hope she was able to make up for it during the short time they did spend together.

When she got closer to Emma's room, she heard whispering voices from inside, so she stopped in front of the door to listen to them.

"I want to wait up for mommy. When is she coming home?"

"She should be here any minute," Will replied.

"I don't like that the firm keeps her away from us so often."

"I don't like it either, but it's her dream, you have dreams too, right?"

"Of course I do. I want to be a singer when I grow up."

"A singer?" Will asked and he clearly sounded surprised, this was definitely one profession their daughter hadn't mentioned yet, "I see."

"And I want a baby sister, but ssssssh, don't tell mom."

It was Diane's turn to get surprised. She'd never really thought of having a third child, two was kind of the ideal number anyway, both Will and her were happy that they had a girl and a boy.

"I…won't…tell her," Will replied, keeping breaks in-between words.

"Wouldn't it be cool to have a baby in the house? I am old enough to nurse her now, I could be a huge help."

"I'm sure you could be sweetheart, but you know what, it's really late, you should go to sleep or you will be really sleepy in school in the morning."

"I know. I hate getting up early."

"I really hate that too."

Diane decided that it was time to enter the room, so she knocked and was immediately greeted by her daughter rather loudly.

"You're going to wake up your brother," she tried to silence her as she stepped inside the room and Will stood up from the side of the bed to give place to her.

"I'm so happy to see you, mommy," Em said as they hugged and kissed each other.

"And I'm happy to be home. Is everything all right?"

"Daddy made pancakes for us."

"Really? I hope you've left some for me too."

"Of course we have, we also wrote you a note, haven't you seen it?"

"I haven't, I came up here first thing, hoping to find you still awake."

"Daddy said I should be sleeping, but I wanted to wait up for you."

"I'm glad you did, but daddy was right, you really should sleep now, we'll talk tomorrow morning, all right?"

"Good night, mommy, I love you."

"I love you too, sweet dreams," she kissed her once more, before she stood up.

"Good night," Will kissed his daughter too and they both left the room.

"Hey," he pulled her close after he shut the door behind them.

"I don't even know how to thank you for doing this, I've been such a bad mother lately."

"Don't say that, the kids love you, you should see the note they left for you."

"Let's check out those pancakes you've made, I'm hungry," she said, kissing him.

For a short moment she considered bringing up his conversation with Em, but it probably wasn't the right time to discuss such a thing. She could only hope having a baby sister wasn't a permanent dream in her daughter's life, because that was definitely one wish she couldn't fulfill.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

"You are early."

She was surprised to see Will knock on her door, she thought there was still some time until the scheduled meeting of their common case.

"Last time you made it quite clear that you don't tolerate any delay when it comes to business meetings," he smiled as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"I see, you've learned your lesson," she was happy he was there a bit earlier, sometimes she still missed talking to him during the day.

"Well, actually I just wanted to see you before the official meeting."

She liked hearing these words, still couldn't help herself with the teasing.

"Why?"

"Do I need a reason to want to see you? Is you being my wife not enough of a reason?"

Of course it was enough for her, but provoking him was simply too much fun to pass on.

"You see me every day. One would think it gets boring to see someone each day after 7 years of marriage."

"Are you sick of me already?" he chuckled and she felt like it was time to cut to the chase.

"No, quite the contrary, I'm happy to see you," she smiled back at him, standing up from her seat when her eyes fell on a woman, sitting on the visitor's chair in front of her office. She couldn't have been much older than thirty, very blonde and very underdressed, "Who is that woman?" she asked him, because somehow she had a feeling he would know the answer given that she hadn't been sitting there before he arrived.

"She…she is my second chair for this case."

"Are you kidding me?" she wasn't exactly sure what kind of an answer she had been hoping for, but this definitely wasn't one, "Since when are you working with such women?"

"A few weeks, she is Stanley's niece. Are you getting jealous?"

"Don't I have the right to?" she asked in a calmer manner, she already knew she had overreacted a little, she had to try to be cool with the situation, otherwise she wouldn't be much different from him and his unexplainable jealousy of Christopher, "You haven't even told me that you spend your days with _her_."

"Because I don't spend my days with her, we are just working together."

When she heard him say the exact same explanation she'd given him a few days ago she waited a bit, before her lips curled up in a smile.

"How does it feel?" she asked and he didn't seem to understand where she was coming from right away.

"What?"

"That you have to explain yourself, like I did, twice already and you dared to go all jealous on me, while we seem to be in the same shoes," it felt good to be even actually, the image of Will working close together with the blonde one would probably pop up in her head in the future, but she had no reason not to trust him, like he had no reason not to trust her.

"I just didn't want you to worry, because there's clearly nothing to worry about."

"Clearly?" she chuckled, "I have eyes."

"But I only have eyes for you. Why would I look at any other women when I have you?"

It was a good feeling to hear these words from him, even though she was sure they weren't completely true, but he was a man after all.

"You came here early to talk yourself out of this, right? You knew how I would react when I see her."

"Yes."

"I appreciate it."

"Good. Because you really have nothing to worry about," he repeated himself and even though she saw how inconvenient he felt, she just couldn't keep something inside.

"I still can't believe that the minute I was out the door you traded me for a younger, blonder version with much shorter skirts," she chuckled, but he still couldn't join her.

"I did no such thing. I wouldn't trade you for anyone in the world. And between you and me, she can be a pain in the ass."

"You poor thing, you don't want me to feel sorry for you, do you?"

"Not really, I just don't want you to bite my head off either."

"Deal," she smiled at him and he finally smiled again, letting go off the tension inside of him, "And now go and entertain your co-chair, while I collect my files."

"Am I not getting one single kiss?" he looked rather disappointed, which was truly adorable.

"With your girlfriend watching? Not a chance," she denied his wish, even though she yearned for a kiss herself as well, but it was impossible under those circumstances. Suddenly it didn't seem like such a good idea anymore, to rent offices with glass walls.

"It would help to crash her hopes," he brought up a reason she hadn't thought of earlier, the possibility of the girl having a crush on her handsome husband.

"Does she have any hopes?" she didn't really want to know if she'd made any move on him, it was enough for her to know he wouldn't in any way encourage her to do so.

"How would I know? I'm an attractive man," it was his turn with the teasing and she liked to see him finally joking around.

"Says who?"

"You and other women."

"What other women?"

He took a short time to think of his reply and she could only hope he would be able to come up with an acceptable answer.

"My sister."

"Nicely saved," she smiled at him and for a moment she considered giving him a kiss, but resisted the urge, "Now go, I'm not putting my marriage on display in front of anyone."

"But I'd really love to kiss you."

"Later," she promised, "Go and don't forget to bring you're A game at the table, because I will definitely not play nice with you in there."

"You can count on that," he turned around and she sat back on her chair, but before he left the office she couldn't resist saying the words.

"Love you."

He turned back to her with a smile and they held each other's gaze for a while before he replied.

"Love you too."

The minute he left the office she dialed a number.

"I need you on this meeting in the conference room in five minutes."

* * *

**I'd just like to thank everyone who has left reviews on this story, I really appreciate each and every review! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

She thought he would say good-bye and leave, like the others did, but he waited until everyone left the conference room.

"How did he know about the clause?" he asked with an all too serious expression on his face which suggested that it wouldn't be a friendly conversation, "That's confidential information."

"Are you accusing me of something?" she didn't like his tone, especially because it was undeserved.

"Did you…did you tell him?" he asked, looking straight into her eyes and she was shocked to see him being serious about this.

"No, I did not share any confidential information with anyone," she replied and turned away from him, starting to collect her files from the table impatiently, she did not like where the conversation was heading, "In fact Chris and I didn't even have the chance to talk about this case before the meeting, I assigned it to him the very last minute, not that you have a right to know that," his accusation simply hurt her too much, she just wanted to cut their talk short and go back to work, in the hope that they could just forget this incident ever happened.

"Did you think his presence would intimidate me?" he switched to a less serious tone, but the tension was already in the air and she didn't feel like taking part in another conversation about Chris again.

"Apparently it didn't, but that wasn't my intention. I just thought since you lawyered up with Barbie, I should have someone else at my table as well," she held all her files in her hand now and was ready to leave, but he was still looking at her.

"I'm afraid this is not going to end very pretty. Why on earth did you have to take this client?"

She couldn't believe her ears, it was simply not fair of him to point this question at her head, just because he had become the underdog in a settlement discussion. He had always been a sore loser, but he shouldn't have blamed it on her. His chances might have been better with a more experienced lawyer on his side.

"Excuse me? It's none of your business who I take as a client, besides you know perfectly well that I basically had no choice," she probably sounded angrier than she should have, but she didn't feel like controlling herself anymore, he had crossed a line here, "I have to take care of the firm, make sure we don't go under in the first year and I have to do it _alone_. I don't even get to see my children on most days for more than a few minutes, you really want to lecture me on how I run my own firm?"

He just stared at her, clearly shocked by her reaction, he probably thought they would be able to discuss this calmly, but she wasn't calm anymore. She was angry, sad and hurt at the same time and she suddenly let it all out on him.

"I'm sorry that you feel this way, I've done my very best to help you through this, I'm not sure there's anything more I could do."

She knew he was right, still she thought her anger was justified, simply because of one thing she hadn't said out loud yet, but she had no more self-control at that moment, the words just came out of her mouth.

"You shouldn't have let me do this on my own, you should be on my side, in your office, we were supposed to do this together," she was already fighting with her tears, but she knew she had to try and hide them as long as she could, not because of him, he had seen her cry before, but the glass windows all around them were her enemies at that moment again.

But he obviously realized what was going on inside of her, because he walked up to her, took the files out of her hand and hugged her. She didn't move away, in fact she hid her face on his shoulder and couldn't help letting out a few teardrops.

"I'm sorry, I really am, you know I want nothing else, but to lead this firm with you, but we have to be cautious, we have to think of our future."

"I know, I'm sorry, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore," she lifted her head to look into his eyes and he stroke her face to wipe away the tears.

"You're exhausted, why don't we take the afternoon off and go for a long walk? Then we could pick up the kids and spend the rest of the day together. Everything will seem different tomorrow."

"I can't take the afternoon off, I have another meeting."

"You should ask Evelyn to reschedule it for you, or you could ask Chris to step in, looks like he can get up to speed very quickly," the playful tone he used convinced her that he wasn't angry anymore so she ventured a short smile.

"He just got lucky with the clause, but you did a bad job hiding your surprise," Christopher's lucky guess wouldn't have had any consequences if Will hadn't given himself away.

"You know me too well, this is why we shouldn't work on opposite sides of a case, when we are such a great team."

"We will be a team again someday."

"We will," he smiled at her, "I know we are still surrounded by these giant glass walls, but I simply can't leave without…"

She didn't let him finish the sentence, she knew what he meant and she couldn't let him go without a kiss, not after their heated argument and everything else that had happened ever since he had entered her office that day.

"I'm picking up the kids today and I'm cooking dinner," she said after their lips parted.

"Sounds good to me," he smiled at her one last time before he let go of her, "I'll see you tonight then," he turned around and took a few steps in the direction of the door.

"You know what we need to do to make up for this fight?"

"What?" he turned back to her.

"I'm going to show you tonight," she said mystically, hoping he would understand where she was coming from.

"I'm looking forward to it," he replied, obviously not missing her point and she already couldn't wait for the moment he would hold her in his arms again.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Later that night, after dinner, Emma helped Diane wash the dishes and put them away. It was something they usually did together, Em liked helping out in the kitchen with some easier tasks.

"Did daddy do something wrong?"

Diane certainly didn't expect such a question from her daughter after the afternoon and evening they had spent together as a family. The mood had been especially cheerful, Will had joked around a lot, she didn't even remember the last time they'd had so much fun.

"Why do you think so?"

"Because he brought you flowers. Our teacher says her husband only brings her flowers when they have a fight and he wants to apologize. Did you fight with daddy?"

The observant nature of her daughter surprised her yet again and even though she didn't like lying to her kids, such white lies were necessary once in a while.

"No, we didn't fight. He brought me flowers because he loves me."

"I also give you flowers on Mother's Day because I love you. Is it a special day today?"

"No, he doesn't need to wait for a special day to bring flowers to me, men sometimes do that."

"I'd like to get flowers too, I love flowers, especially lilies."

"I'm sure you're going to get many bouquets in your life."

"I hope so. Yours is really nice, I like roses too."

They were both staring at the vase, standing on the table with red roses in it. Will probably shouldn't have brought her flowers after all, but she loved them nevertheless.

"Me too," she looked from the flowers to her daughter's smiling face and it hit her again how little time they had spent together lately and how much she missed that, "What do you say if you and I go somewhere together this Saturday, just the two of us?"

"Really? Only you and I?" just the look on her face already told her how much joy her suggestion caused for her.

"Yes."

"And where would we go?"

"You decide, we can go wherever you want to go."

"Do I have to decide now?"

"No, just think about it and you can tell me tomorrow."

"I'll think of something, I'm sooo excited, but what would daddy and Nat say?"

"We'll tell them it's something between us girls, they will understand."

Em dropped the cloth from her hand and hugged Diane tightly.

"I love you, mommy."

"I love you too," she bent down to kiss her head and truly couldn't wait for their time together.

o-o-o

"Your daughter asked if you'd done something wrong, because you brought me flowers."

Of course both of them knew why he'd brought the flowers, she just wanted to make it clear again that she had no reason to be angry with him with or without flowers.

"And what did you tell her?"

"That you brought me flowers because you love me."

"Also true, but I did something wrong as well, I hadn't realized that you're under so much pressure. You need to find some time for yourself, hang out with friends."

She hadn't exactly had time for her friends either lately, but her children came first and as long as she was able to spend time with them and Will, she didn't really need anyone else.

"I'm going to hang out with my daughter this weekend."

"Really? And where are you going?"

"I don't know yet, but knowing Em it will probably be something fun."

"Just what you need right now."

"Speaking of something fun I need right now, I believe we have some unfinished business from this morning," she changed to a quite seductive tone and didn't miss the smile on his face.

"Unfinished business? Very exciting."

"I'm just going to take a shower and I'll be back in ten minutes, don't go anywhere," not that he looked like he wanted to go anywhere, he hadn't even moved from the bed ever since she'd entered the room.

"Why don't you take a long bath? I kind of made you one," he said casually and it was her turn to give him a remarkable smile.

"You do feel guilty for what happened, don't you?"

"I do and I'm so sorry, I wish I could take back everything I said."

"I have my own share of things I said and want to take back too," she admitted, because she knew both of them were to blame for that fight, even though he had provided the reason for it on the first place.

"You can start making up for them after your bath," he proposed, still not making one single move and it started to actually irritate her, she wanted to finally feel him close to her, she had been waiting for too long already.

"What about during? I don't remember the last time we shared a bath together," she looked into his eyes as she said the words and didn't have to wait much longer for his reply.

"How could I say no to that?"

He finally got out of the bed, his eyes never leaving hers and his lips soon tasted hers, while he gently guided her in the direction of the bathroom. They slowly undressed each other enjoying every single kiss they shared and indulging in the feeling of the other's hands and lips on their skin. There was no rush in their movements, it was the only way they could really make up for what had happened that day and it was the best proof that despite everything there was really nothing that could come between them, because they truly belonged together.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Will and Nat were busy playing on the living room rug when they arrived home and only one of them actually noticed their arrival.

"I thought you went to see a play," Will said as he spotted the shopping bags in Diane and Emma's hands.

"We did, but we stopped by the mall on our way back," Diane replied, placing the bags on the ground and the couch.

From the number of bags it was obvious that they hadn't just done a little shopping and from the look on Will's face she could tell he seemed a little confused.

"Mommy, can I show daddy my Halloween costume?" Emma was very happy, holding on to a yellow shopping bag.

"Of course you can, I'll help you put it on later, but I think we should eat first, I bet you're hungry already, we brought dinner."

"I'm starving," Will replied, smiling already and stood up from the ground, "I've completely lost track of time building this ship."

"I can see that," Diane looked at her son, still focusing on the toys. She kneeled down beside him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Have you brought something for me?" Nat asked and it made Diane chuckle.

"Of course we have," she would have given it to him right away, but the boy didn't seem to pay attention to anything but his current activity.

"What about me?" Will looked down to her with a smile.

"You too, but let's eat first, shall we?" she stood up and taking a bag into her hand she walked towards the kitchen.

"My sister called."

"How is Sarah?"

"Not too well, I think she and Roger have some problems. She asked me if she could spend a few days with us."

"Aunt Sarah is coming?" Em sounded very excited.

"Maybe," Will replied.

"She's welcomed here anytime, I hope you told her that."

"I did."

"Hurrah!" Em was overjoyed about the possible visit of her only aunt, who spoiled her and Nat as every aunt would.

"Now take your things into your room and wash your hands before dinner. You too, Nat. You can finish that after dinner. I'll help you as well."

"Ok," came the short reply after a pause and Diane finally entered the kitchen followed by Will.

"What's wrong with Sarah? Did she tell you anything?"

"Not much, you know she loves digging into my life, but she's rather private when it comes to hers."

"I'll try to talk to her, maybe over a glass of wine she might open up to me again."

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, you know I love your sister."

"I know and one more advantage of her arrival, we might get another night out just the two of us," he stood behind her, folding his arms around her waist as she was busy portioning out the food.

"I get a drinking buddy and a baby sitter, she should visit more often," Diane chuckled as she stopped what she'd been doing and leaned against him a little, enjoying his embrace.

"Hey, what about me? Am I not good enough for you as your drinking buddy?"

"You know you are much more than that," she said softly and the only reason she didn't act on her words was that Emma and Nat could have entered the door any minute. "I just like dishing you with your sister, it's fun," she replied in a more playful tone, getting back to the food in front of her.

Will placed a kiss on her cheek and let go off her to help her set the table.

"So what's it with all this shopping? Christmas is more than two months away."

Diane expected this question already after his reaction to the bags they'd brought home.

"I know, but she has wished for this Halloween costume for so long."

"I thought we agreed that she won't get everything she wants. She could have worn a home-made costume."

"Made by you?" she chuckled, trying not to take his words too seriously.

"Very funny," he smiled at her.

"I admit, I don't have the time anymore to make costumes for them, it doesn't make me a bad mother, does it?" she wasn't upset or anything, these were simply the facts he couldn't deny either.

"No. I just don't want you to feel the need to buy them something just because you don't have enough time for them."

She looked at him and for a moment she considered whether he was right or wrong. Maybe she had bought the costume out of guilt after all.

"That's not the case and Emma knows it," she stated and wanted to believe her own words.

"Ok, I didn't say a thing. It's good to see her so happy with it."

"She is, you can't ruin this for her."

"I won't."

"And thank you for watching out for me."

"That's what we do, right? Watch out for each other."

"Yes," she gave him a small kiss, "I'll go and fetch the kids."

As she went upstairs she was thinking about what he'd said, how them watching out for each other seemed to have turned into him watching out for her almost all the time. She couldn't be angry with him for interfering, simply because he might have been right. She should have taken the time to think about what she'd been doing, but she barely had the state of mind to think about anything but her new firm. It had taken away too much of her time, her thoughts, she had to figure out a way to change this before it was too late.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

"The kids are asleep and Will's watching the game. I'm all yours," Diane said as she plopped on the couch and made herself comfortable.

"Let's drink to that," her sister-in-law handed her the full wine glass and Diane took a quick sip right away, enjoying the liquid that tasted like a piece of heaven that night.

"This is as close I can get to a lady's night, so I should cherish these moments."

"If anyone deserves this, it's certainly you. I've heard you've been overloaded in the last months."

"That's an understatement, but I'm not complaining, I just wish a day had 48 hours."

"Don't we all?"

After a short pause Diane decided to cut to the chase right away, she wanted to know what had brought her sister-in-law to them before the Holiday season.

"So tell me, what's going on with you, Will mentioned some problems."

"Why don't we drink first and dive into my life a little later?" Sarah averted her first attempt with a smile and Diane wasn't surprised.

"Ok, but don't count on me forgetting about it."

"I don't," Sarah obviously appreciated that she was ready to listen to her, but she must have needed some more time or some more wine for this conversation, "I can't believe how much the kids have grown since the last time."

"Yep, we feed them," Diane chuckled and reached for a chocolate cookie to make the night even more perfect.

"And Emma is so smart, of course it's no wonder with your genes."

"She wants a baby sister," she said it out too quickly, without thinking about it first, but it felt good to finally discuss it with someone, she'd kept this to herself for too long already.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"What does Will have to say about it?"

"He doesn't know that I know, Emma only told him, I was just eavesdropping."

Sarah didn't even seem surprised at this statement.

"I could never imagine my brother with even one kid, let alone three. You've changed him so much, for the better of course."

"Would you believe me if I said I never imagined myself having kids either?"

"It's hard to believe, being a mother must be the most wonderful thing in life."

"It is, I know that already and I owe it to Will. We basically talked each other into having kids, he's changed me just as much as I've changed him."

"That's true love," Diane couldn't deny this of course, but she didn't feel the need to confirm it with more than a smile either, so it was again Sarah who asked the next question, "So what about that third child?"

"I don't see myself changing diapers anymore, I'd like to think I'm done with that phase already and now I can focus on my career."

"I heard the new firm is going well."

"We're still small, but we are alive, I'm optimistic."

"Good. Can I stop by next week to check out the place?"

"Of course, anytime."

They were done talking about her family and work as well, so it was only natural that Diane was about to venture her very first question again, but Sarah went on with the questions.

"So how exactly does this 'talking each other into having kids' thing work? I could use some advice."

She didn't need to ask anymore, Sarah finally decided to open up on her own.

"Roger doesn't want to have kids?"

"No, he does, but he thinks it's still too early for us, we've only been married for a year."

"That was when I had Emma."

"I know and I'm tired of waiting. I'd been waiting for the right man to come along long enough and now it turns out he's a stubborn asshole," she obviously said these words with love and Diane didn't even hide her short chuckle.

"You should have brought him with you, maybe if he spent some time with kids, he would change his mind."

"As if it would be that easy to take him away from work, the honeymoon phase of our marriage was over too quickly."

"You know a good marriage requires more and more work as time goes by, maybe it's time for you to start working on these issues," Diane hoped that Sarah was ready for her advice, she didn't want to sound like she knew it best, but she had been given this same advice once and it definitely turned out to be true.

"I know and I'm sorry for ruining your night with my problems. We were supposed to have fun."

"Nonsense, I wish I could help more."

"You have already, by listening to me and your advice is very much appreciated."

"More than seven years of marriage have taught me a lot of things I hadn't known before."

"They say the seventh year is usually the most critical."

"Doesn't sound like the right time to test our marriage which I've been doing lately. But Will is wonderfully supportive, I feel so lucky."

"Are we talking about the same William I know?" Sarah chuckled.

"Probably not, he obviously reserves his best side for me," Diane said in a teasing voice.

"He should give Roger some advice on how to do that," Sarah kept on smiling, it seemingly did her good to talk about the problems with someone.

"I'm sure you two will figure it out, I was at your wedding, you definitely belong together."

"Let's drink to that."

They spent the next hour finishing the bottle of wine and the box of cookies disappeared as well. They shared some funny stories about their hubbies and Sarah especially enjoyed hearing about her brother's other life. Their laughter soon echoed through the silent house and caught the attention of someone who shouldn't have been present for that particular talk, but he still appeared from nowhere in the middle of one of Diane's anecdotes.

"I don't think Sarah should know about that," he said playfully, leaning on the back of the couch between the two women.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were asleep already."

"As if anyone could sleep in this noise, do you want to wake up the children?"

"We could go elsewhere, just say the word," Sarah chuckled.

"No way I'm letting you go out like this, drunk married women shouldn't be allowed to leave the house without their husbands."

"Is that a rule you've just invented? Besides, who said that we are drunk? It was only a bottle of wine," Diane actually enjoyed his fake intervention, he definitely looked cute, turning his head from one woman to the other.

"Indeed it was and now we're gonna open another. Do you want to join us?"

"No, thank you! What I don't hear, doesn't hurt, just try to keep it a little more silent, for the kids' sake."

"We could try that," Diane smiled at him and her eyes showed that she was grateful for him watching out for her again.

"Good night," Will placed a kiss on Sarah's cheek and another on Diane's lips, before he went back upstairs.

"More than seven years and you're still in love, this gives me hope," Sarah said silently with a smile on her face.

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Roger is a good man. And I'm confident that you will need godparents for your first born child very soon."

"I definitely count on you."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

The first thing she noticed was the smell of coffee in the air as she slowly opened her eyes the next morning.

"Good morning," Will was sitting on the other side of the bed, smiling at her.

"Morning," she mumbled, "How long have you been watching me?"

"Just for a few minutes, brought you some coffee."

"Where is it?" she asked, sitting up slowly, leaning against the headboard.

Will handed her the mug and she took a sip right away, drinking coffee in bed was the perfect way to start a Sunday morning. She took a few more sips and her mind started to work again, just to realize that something didn't feel right.

"What time is it?"

"Ten."

"What? Why didn't you wake me earlier? Where are the kids?"

"They are in the garden, with Sarah."

"So she's up already, I'm obviously too old for this lady's night thing," she rested her head a little, she wasn't feeling too bad after all, but she had obviously slept much more than usual.

"Nonsense. You are allowed to sleep in once in a while."

"I am allowed a lot of things lately, sometimes I wonder how long can I get away with it? Who am I kidding? I'm not superwoman, I can't handle everything on my own."

"That's why you have me."

"You do know that most women would kill to have a husband like you," she was tempted to add including his sister, but she didn't want to cause any trouble between Will and his brother-in-law. She hoped Sarah would be able to fix things between them without Will knowing anything about it. He had always been very protective of his only baby sister.

"And most man would kill to have a wife like you."

"A wife who wakes up with a slight hangover at 10 on a Sunday while someone else is watching her kids?"

"Sarah is happy to help out and hangover or not, you are behind with sleep anyway."

"I am behind with a lot of things lately," she sighed and Will moved a little closer to her.

"And where am I on that list?"

"I would say at this very moment you are right on top, I mean this coffee is damn perfect," she leaned forward to give him a kiss.

"Then I probably shouldn't admit that it was Sarah who made it," he whispered, looking at her with undeniable desire.

"That might ruin your chances," she said with a teasing smile.

"My chances of what?"

"Your chances of getting what you're entitled to being the one on top of my list," she kissed him again, leaving no doubt about what she was referring to.

"And what am I entitled to?" he asked nevertheless, making her chuckle, but he cut her off with a kiss.

"Well, since you've admitted you didn't make the coffee yourself, I give you a bonus point for honesty and you did bring it to me yourself."

"I did," he smiled and reached for the mug in her hand.

"Not without a hidden agenda I suppose," she chuckled as he placed the cup on the nightstand then moved close to her again.

"I just want to get what I'm entitled to, whatever that is," he kissed her even more passionately this time.

"Whatever you want," she said the last word before she completely lost herself in his arms.

o-o-o

"There you are," Sarah greeted them as they stepped outside to check on the kids and their sitter a while later.

"How can you look like that after so little sleep? I'm jealous," Diane smiled at her.

"It's the fresh air, we've been having tons of fun here. But talking about jealous, you're simply glowing."

"Sleep can do magic to me, you know," Diane tried hard not to blush or give themselves away, even though Sarah probably saw right through them anyway.

"Mommy," Em finally discovered that they arrived and ran there to hug her, "Aunt Sarah has taught us gardening."

"Gardening? Really? Can we hire you full time?" she addressed her sister-in-law again.

"Just wait until you discover what damage Nat has done to some of your precious flowers, you might send me home right away."

"Look at the weeds I've picked!" Nat showed her a bunch of green plants in his hands.

"As long as they are having fun," Diane smiled and kissed her son good morning.

"You need kids, sis, what are you two waiting for?" Will asked, without knowing that he was hitting a tender spot with the question.

Sarah looked at Diane for a moment, for some silent advice and she gave her a comforting look in return.

"We're working on it," she replied and tried to sound cheerful, "Do you guys want to have little cousins?" she turned to the kids to hide her face.

"Babies are cute, will you let me hold your baby?" Emma asked.

"Sure I will."

"Now what do you say if we all go out for lunch?" Diane interfered, because the baby-topic wasn't really safe for either of them, "I don't exactly feel like cooking today."

"I could cook," Sarah replied at once.

"Definitely not, I feel guilty enough already for having you baby sit."

"You know I love spending time with these two, they are adorable."

"That they are, I'm still waiting for when they will stop being this adorable."

"Watch out for what you wish for, you might regret it later."

"I know, they just grow up so fast," Diane looked at her children, still digging the ground, "Come on guys, you need to change before we go out."

"Let me help," Sarah offered and Diane was grateful, but she planned to spend all the time possible with her kids for the rest of the day, they were definitely the next ones on her list of people she needed to make amends with.

"I'd rather do it myself, why don't you two have some sister-brother time until we get ready?"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

"How is he?" the woman jumped from her seat right away when Diane opened the door of the interrogation room and stepped outside.

"He's holding up fine, but it's far from being over, 44 hours to go."

"He didn't do this, he couldn't have, he loved her," she said, still fighting with her tears. Diane could only imagine how hard it could have been for her sitting outside, while her son had been questioned inside about the murder of his fiancé. They had been friends for almost ten years now and her husband's firm was one of her most prestigious clients, so she had a double reason to be there that Sunday afternoon and try to prevent the young man she'd seen grow up to be charged with murder.

"You know that, I know, but if they have enough evidence they will charge him with murder in 44 hours."

"He needs your help, I need your help."

"And I'm doing everything I can, one of my associates is on his way here and the firm's investigator is already looking for possible other suspects."

"Diane?", Christopher stepped out of the elevator the next moment.

"Here he is, let me introduce you to each other. Kate Parker. Christopher Wilson."

"Mrs. Parker, we'll do everything we can for your son," probably hearing it from one more person was helpful for Kate and Chris definitely made a good first impression

"Thank you," the woman shook hands with him.

"If you'd excuse us, I need to talk to Chris in private."

"Of course, when can I see Tim?"

"I'll ask for permission."

As they stepped aside Diane felt the need to apologize, mainly because it was the first time she needed to gather her employees during the weekend.

"I'm sorry for ruining your Sunday plans, but Kate and I have been friends for years and her husband…"

"I know, don't worry, I just hope I didn't collect too many speeding tickets on my way back," he joked, but Diane clearly wasn't in the mood for that and the lack of her reaction quickly made him change back to their original topic, "Anything new since we talked? Have they found the murder weapon?"

"Not yet, but they have circumstantial evidence against him, we desperately need another suspect, anyone to shift the blame on."

"Does Kalinda have anything?"

"Not yet, she's looking into neighbors, exes, maybe she'll find someone."

"She's really effective, a great hire, definitely."

Diane was proud of her decision to hire the young Hindu woman as an in-house-investigator, who had already proven herself worthy of her trust.

"An ex SA investigator with connections was exactly someone we needed."

Diane's phone started buzzing just when ASA Helen Gamble, who had been questioning their client, appeared again, probably for another line of questions. She took out the phone to check the caller ID, it was Will. She hesitated whether or not to answer, when Helen stepped next to them.

"We've found the murder weapon."

o-o-o

"How is he?" Diane rushed into her son's room in a hurry 4 hours later.

"He still has fever, but it's slowly going down," Sarah had been sitting on the side of Nat's bed, but she stood up to make room for the little patient's mother.

"It must have been the food, right?" Diane stepped closer, unable to take her eyes off her son who was obviously asleep.

"Definitely, but the doctor said he should be better by the morning."

"What a day! One minute we're sitting at the table together happily and look at us 8 hours later."

"He will be fine, especially now that you are here."

"I shouldn't have come home, but I couldn't stay there either, knowing he's suffering," she lifted the cold pack from his forehead and stroke it gently, "He's so warm. Did he ask for me?"

"Yes, that was when Will finally called you, he hadn't wanted to, knowing you probably wouldn't have been able to come."

"Had I known that was why he called, I would have come much sooner," she'd ignored his call since it had come in the worst possible moment and she'd only remembered to call him back a few hours later.

"Will said the client is important."

"But no one can be more important than my children," she meant what she said and she was ready to prove it right away, "You should go to sleep, I'm staying with him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes and thank you for everything."

"It was the least I could do."

Sarah kissed her nephew before saying goodnight and after she left the room Diane sat down beside her son, just to watch him sleep. She obviously couldn't do much for him, she probably could have done a lot more for her client that night, but there was no other place she wanted to be. It didn't take long until her phone started buzzing. She didn't even check the caller before she turned it off. She'd told them to take care of everything and she had no choice but to trust them that they were able to solve it without her.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

She opened her eyes and they immediately met with his in the dark.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered the apology, referring to the kiss he'd given on her forehead a few seconds ago.

"I wasn't really asleep," she sat up and turned to Nat right away, who was still sleeping next to her.

"How is he?"

"He hasn't woken up since I arrived," she checked his forehead, which wasn't that warm anymore.

"Then you probably should let him sleep and come to your own bed," he suggested, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't do that," she turned in his direction.

"It's not the first time he's been sick and it surely won't be the last, there's really no reason for you to feel guilty."

"Do you think that's why I'm here? Because of guilt?"

"No, I'm just trying to help, to make you feel better."

She appreciated his support and she did feel a little guilty that she hadn't answered his call right away, she could have come home much sooner.

"I hate how this day ended, it started out so perfectly," she sighed, thinking back on their morning.

"I know, tomorrow can only be better."

"Unless Tim will be charged with murder, can you believe it?"

"What are his chances?"

"I'm not even sure what were his chances two hours ago. Kate might never forgive me if he gets charged."

"I'm sure you left him in good hands, right?"

"I did, but I even turned off my phone," she looked at her cell phone, that was lying on the table.

"Come here," he took her hands in his and pulled her up from her seat, "You've made the right choice coming home to Nat, probably turning off your phone wasn't the smartest thing to do, but what's done is done. You can either turn it back on now to check in with the police station or you do that in the morning, it's your call."

"It must be terrible of me not to care about what's going on there, right?"

"You do care about Tim, you've proven it already, it's only natural you care about your own son more."

"I just want to be with him when he wakes up, so that he knows I've been here for him."

"He will be really happy to see you."

"I've screwed up today, I'm obviously not fit to lead a firm if I leave everything behind to run back home to my children whenever they have a little fever."

"The first time is always the hardest, next time it will be much easier."

"That's comforting," she finally smiled at him, grateful for talking her down.

"Mommy," they suddenly heard Nat's voice and Diane rushed back to his side again.

"I'm here sweetie, how are you feeling?"

"It's warm."

"I didn't want you to feel cold, does it hurt?"

"No, I'm sleepy."

"Then go back to sleep, I'll be here."

"I love you, mommy."

"I love you too," she placed a kiss on his cheek and kept smiling at him until he closed his eyes again. Whatever would happen the next day, it was already worth coming home that night, "I'm going to stay here with him," she turned back to Will.

"All right," he said smiling.

Diane lay down next to Nat and Will helped to cover her before giving her a goodnight kiss. And despite all that had happened during the day, finally everything seemed right again.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

He seemed to be asleep, but she barely lay down next to him with her back in his direction when his arms were already around her, pulling her into a hug.

"Finally, it's been almost a day since the last time I hold you like this," he placed a kiss on her cheek.

"A day I'd like to erase from my memory, well not every part of course," she added, turning her head to the side to smile at him.

"Is Nat all right?"

"I think so, he seems to be sleeping peacefully, Sarah was up early, so I decided to try and sleep a little before the day starts."

"Have you checked your phone?"

"Yep, looks like I have an effective team, they let Tim go, no reason to worry anymore," she had only two voicemails from Chris, one of them mentioning some complications and telling her to call him back, while the other reassured her that the client was free again, "No one is irreplaceable, not even me," she sighed. Of course she was happy the case was solved so quickly on their part, but she couldn't help feeling left out.

"You are irreplaceable to me, to the kids, you have no reason to feel bitter about anything. Not to mention that they wouldn't have been able to get him off without you."

She had been there from the start, making sure everyone did his or her job, not to mentioned she had been the one doing the handholding as well and Kate had needed that just like Tim who had always looked up to Diane. Still she had let them down in a way and they might never forget it.

"Probably, but you're right, there's no use thinking about what ifs. I just want to sleep a little before I start the week, that should help."

"It will. I don't want to disturb you, I'll just go and check on Nat, talk to Sarah, I'll wake you in an hour," he gave another kiss on her cheek and started pulling back his arms from around her, but she stopped him, placing her hand on his.

"Please don't go," she begged him and he obeyed her without hesitation, pulling her close to him again.

"All right, I guess I'll stay here to guard your dreams."

"Thank you."

She wanted to kiss him, to show him how much she appreciated his presence, but before she had the chance to act upon this urge, her eyes quickly fell close and the next minute she was already asleep.

o-o-o

She arrived in the office a little later than usual, since Will had let her sleep a little longer than she'd planned, but she couldn't have stayed angry with him for that. She'd made sure Nat had been all right and thankfully Sarah had offered to stay with him during the day otherwise she should have asked her aunt to look after the kid which might have caused some trouble, since Nat still wasn't on the best terms with the elder lady.

She wasn't sure she would find Chris in the office already, since his last voicemail had only been a few hours old, but he was already there and the lack of sleep didn't really show on him.

"I was pleased to hear everything went well last night," she leaned against the doorframe of his office, she didn't intend to stay long, just wanted to check in with him and thank him for taking care of everything in her absence.

"Yes, Kate was really grateful."

Hearing her friend's first name from his mouth like that was something Diane wasn't prepared for, she had just introduced them to each other a few hours ago, but she did her best to hide her reaction.

"I will call her later, I just wanted to say thank you."

"No problem," he shrugged," It's my job."

"I know, but still…"

"And how is your son?"

"Much better."

"I have to admit that I admire you for running a firm on your own, with two kids waiting for you at home, it must be hard to find the balance."

She could swear he emphasized on the words 'on your own' and it suddenly hit her why she'd been feeling a little insecure about having left him in charge, because he actually enjoyed being in charge a little too much.

"Sometimes it is, but I'm working on it," she had no intention of talking about her difficulties with him, she was his boss after all, it was none of his business.

"You know if you need any help, I'm here."

"I know, thank you."

Chris wasn't the only good lawyer at her firm, but he was definitely one she'd trusted because of their common history, however she started to doubt that it was wise to fully trust him on the first place. He might have been loyal to her, but he was probably seeking his own interest all the same and who knew when the latter might overcome the former. She decided to keep an eye on him from then on and make sure not to give too much power in his hands, because he might turn that against her one day.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

"Did you have an appointment with Mr. Parker today?"

Diane just got back from a court date and her head was still full of names and details of the case, the name Parker didn't ring a bell at that moment.

"Jason Parker, he was here about an hour ago, I surely didn't schedule this for you for today."

Of course the name was more than familiar to her, in fact she'd kind of expected a visit from him that day after what had happened the previous night, even though he hadn't announced himself. She felt a little bad for having missed him, but she couldn't do anything about it anymore.

"I didn't schedule a meeting with him either, but I wanted to call his wife today, thanks for reminding me."

"So it wasn't you he came to see?" Evelyn's questions started to actually bother Diane, she though they'd already wasted enough time on someone who had left the place an hour ago without even leaving a note behind.

"Obviously, why are you asking again?" she felt she'd missed the point of this conversation or maybe she was really concentrating on other things that moment.

"I'm not sure," Evelyn paused and looked at Diane for a few seconds, before she continued, "Maybe it's nothing…"

"Come into my office," Diane motioned to her and walked through the door, she had a feeling her assistant did have something important to say after all.

"I really don't want to cause any trouble," the young woman said as she sat down in the armchair and she actually looked a bit worried.

"If there's anything you think I should know about, I'm listening."

"It's just that Mr. Parker has always insisted on talking to you and you alone when he called or visited."

"It's because his wife and I are friends."

"I know, but today I saw him talking to Chris," she finished the sentence carefully, obviously waiting for some kind of reaction on Diane's side.

"He probably just came to thank him personally, for helping his son, that's really kind of him," of course she wished he had thanked her as well, but Chris obviously did some heavy lifting last night, he deserved the appreciation.

"It is, they seemed to be very friendly already, I just had this odd feeling, he had always been so distanced with everyone, including you."

"Everyone changes when it's about their children, you'll understand it one day. Which reminds me, I better check up on my son again," she diverted the conversation, but Evelyn's observation did put an unwanted thought in her head, she just didn't want to show.

"I hope he'll be healthy again soon, give him a kiss from me."

"I will," she pulled out her phone and Evelyn stood up right away to give her the privacy.

But before she made the call to her sister-in-law her mind got back to their previous topic. Maybe Evelyn's instincts weren't so wrong after all and something had happened there between Chris and Jason that she probably should have known about.

o-o-o

"Damn," she said, a little louder than she should have, but she couldn't help it.

That damn egg landed on the floor and she had to clean it up right away if she didn't want to slip on it the next minute. The next thing she dropped was the wooden spoon and she had to remind herself why she was trying to bake in this tensed state she was in, on a Monday evening. One of the reasons was her son of course, she wanted to make his favorite cake, so that he might start eating again. Not to mention baking had always calmed her down, but it somehow didn't seem to work that day.

"You need any help?" Will appeared in the kitchen door, with the most innocent look on his face, which normally would have made her smile, but she wasn't in the mood to smile at all.

"No," she gave him the shortest possible answer and continued mixing the ingredients as quickly as she could hoping to get rid of her anger that way.

"Are you all right?"

"I am," she lied, unsure whether or not she should tell him anything on the first place. In her mind she already heard his _'I told you so'_ and she really wasn't up for his lecture that night.

"You seem a little…edgy," he said and stepped inside the kitchen, obviously not fearing to get nearer to her, even though she'd bitten his head off several times in similar situations. He should have known better.

"I'm fine, everything's fine," she finished mixing and poured the dough into the cake form. After putting it in the oven she literally threw all pots and tools into the sink.

"Want me to wash them?"

"If you insist," she shrugged and got rid of her apron, "I'll be back in twenty minutes, I'll just take a quick walk."

"All right, I'll be here if you want to talk or something," he said quickly, raising his voice as she walked out the room while he spoke.

She knew she had to tell him eventually, but she wasn't up for it yet, first she had to try to deal with it on her own. It would have been his problem as well, had he made a different decision a few months ago. In fact in that case this incident would probably have never happened. She couldn't believe that she actually found a way to blame Will for it, but blaming someone else always helped a little.

It wasn't such a bad idea after all not to tell him anything yet, she might have prevented a fight between them. Maybe a few hours later she would be able to discuss it with him without biting his head off or shifting the blame on him, which he didn't really deserve. After all she also had no idea what she would have done without him.


	29. Chapter 29

******In case anyone missed this story, I apologize for the delay, but I've been unable to write in the last weeks, so I decided to stop with the updates. Continuing to post them now, I have 40 chapters written, at least I'm able to share those and maybe my muse comes back to me soon.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

"I brought you some cake," she entered his study with a huge piece of cake on a plate and closed the door behind her.

"Thanks," he said without looking at her, he seemed to be busy typing on his laptop.

She approached his desk, but instead of just putting down the plate she chose to walk right next to him and took a seat on the side of the desk, placing the plate in her lap. She leaned a little closer to check the computer screen, it was obviously work he was engaged in, so she decided to just stay quiet until he finished and took a bite of the cake with the fork she'd also brought with herself.

He finally stopped to look at her and she knew he must have liked what he saw. She was only wearing a short nightgown and she did come there to try to make up for her earlier behavior. He could see she was indeed showing effort.

"You're gonna stay until I finish?" he asked, looking her up and down.

"Will it take long?" she ventured a smile, seeing he wasn't angry with her.

"I'm not sure," he smiled as well, giving himself away.

"You only hid here to avoid me, didn't you?" she chuckled.

"Well, you haven't exactly been the best company tonight, so I thought I give you some space."

She appreciated it very much, even after she'd come back from the short walk she'd still been tensed, but then she'd spent some time with the kids, Nat had been happy about his favorite cake and finally eaten something for the first time that day. These little things had slowly lightened her mood and she managed to make peace with what had happened that day.

"I know and I am sorry, I was just so angry and you'd probably think it's silly."

"Try me."

"Besides I'm sure you have your own problems to deal with at your firm, I should be able to handle mine on my own."

"You know you can tell me anything, it never helps to bottle it up."

"I know."

He stood up and walked to the cabinet, took out a bottle of Scotch and two glasses.

"Don't eat all my cake," he smiled at her as he sat back in his seat again and poured both of them from the drink.

"Who knew angry-cake-making is this effective?" she smiled as she approached his mouth with a bite that he gladly accepted.

"It's not that bad," he chuckled after swallowing it.

"Take that back or I'm eating this whole piece on my own, outside."

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me what's bothering you," he replied, handing her a glass and he also took the plate from her and she didn't even protest.

"All right. But like I said you'd probably think it's stupid, just try to see things from my point of view, please."

"I will."

"I called Kate today to ask how they are, especially Tim and she seemed so…distant and I couldn't help but ask if anything was wrong, especially after what Evelyn had said."

"What did she say?"

"Well she kind of warned me that Chris and Jason had a meeting behind my back, which could have been harmless of course, but when Kate was so weird, I just asked and she told me that Jason was very sorry, but he realized he would be better off with a male lawyer after all."

"He chose Chris over you? After working for him for so many years, pulling him out of all kinds of crap only because Kate is your friend? And he didn't even have the guts to tell you?"

"Exactly. And if I told you how many times he rested his eyes on my legs during those years…male lawyer my ass."

"I really didn't need to know that."

"Sorry, and I'm sorry for not telling you about it right away, I was just so pissed. I needed to calm down. I can handle this, I've lost clients before."

"It just has been too much for you this last day, I understand. You had to make a choice you cannot allow yourself to regret even though it has consequences. It could have gone much worse, he will still be your firm's client, you'll still profit from him, so it's really not that big a deal, but again, I understand."

"You're amazing, I hope you know that. And I love you."

"And I love you. And this cake is delicious," this time he was the one giving her a bite and she couldn't stop smiling at him.

The cake and the Scotch from their glasses were soon gone, along with their restrain. They didn't even try to hold it back until they made it to their bedroom, they just wanted to have each other right there and then, nothing else mattered. Some important papers might have ended on the floor, a glass or two might have been broken as well, but they simply didn't care.

There were many things that had kept this marriage alive and only one of them was their undying desire for one another, but it was definitely one of the strongest bonds. In each other's arms they were able to find everything they were looking for and so much more. And no matter what had happened that day, it was easy for them to make a usual night into a night to remember


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

"Where is she? We're going to be late," she checked the time for the tenth time in the last two minutes.

"Just give her five more minutes, she'll be here," Will was sipping his coffee calmly, reading the newspaper, while Diane was already tensed and it wasn't even seven yet.

Emma's new morning routine was to wake up to her own alarm clock, get ready on her own and meet them at the breakfast table. It had worked well for more than a week now, but Diane had a feeling that something might have gone wrong this morning, she should have been with them already.

"I'll go and check on her," she stood up, but before she could move away from the table Will grabbed her arm.

"We can wait five more minutes, can't we?" he asked with a smile she could hardly say no to.

"I guess so. Then I'll go check on Nat first."

"You have already spent enough time with him this morning. You even woke up an hour earlier, please don't do it again."

"That was the responsible thing to do, he's still not well and it's bad enough that I can't be with him all day, what's one less hour of sleep?"

"It's a lot, I think I need triple coffee this morning."

"Stop complaining and let me go," she looked at his hand still holding on to her arm.

"Fine, the five minutes are almost up anyway," he pulled back his hand, but she didn't move away.

"Then you got what you wanted," she smiled at him, "Five more minutes with me alone, which you could have used more wisely, if I might add."

There was no reaction on his side, he already had the newspaper in his hands again. Only when she tried to take a step aside she felt his hand on her arm again and this time he did not just grab it, he pulled her closer, until they were eye to eye, their lips only a few inches away from each other.

"More wisely?" he whispered.

"Yep," she replied in the same tone.

"What did you have in mind?"

"I'm not sure," she smiled, resisting the desire to show him what she meant, it was his turn.

"Then let's see if I can read your mind."

"Let's see," she looked deep into his eyes until she felt the soft touch of his lips on hers.

o-o-o

Another five minutes later she was practically running up the staircase and into her daughter's bedroom, just to find her still in bed. The girl's eyes shot open as she entered the room, she obviously hadn't been asleep anymore.

"What's wrong?" she rushed to the side of the bed, fearing she might have gotten sick as well, even though she didn't look like that.

"I think I'm sick," she replied slowly.

Diane put her hand on her forehead, but it didn't feel like she had fever.

"Are you sure? You look perfectly healthy to me."

"I'm sure, my throat hurts," she tried to cough a little, which didn't sound serious to Diane, so she suspected, that it was probably just an act. But even though they were already terribly late, she decided to play along a little.

"Let me have a look," she suggested and turned on the light, "Open your moth."

She checked her throat, which seemed all right.

"I have a tummy ache too," she added.

"Really? Could it be because you've been up for a half an hour, but still haven't had breakfast?"

"No, I'm sick. Can I stay at home?"

"Are you really sick or just want to stay at home?"

"I'm really sick," she nodded.

"Then I will call the doctor, but if she doesn't find anything wrong, I'll be…" she didn't finish the sentence, just looked at her. She wasn't angry with her for trying to play sick, maybe she just needed some attention, envied it from her brother, or simply had some other reason why she didn't want to go to school.

Emma looked at her for a few seconds before she turned her head away.

"Tell me what's wrong, you don't seem sick to me, but if you really are…"

"I'm not, I'm sorry, I just wanted to…"

"Stay in bed and skip school?"

"Yes," she turned her head towards Diane again, she was obviously feeling guilty for what she'd done.

"You know there will always be days when you don't want to get out of bed for whatever reason, it happens to all of us, but if you act up on this wish, it will be your loss. You might miss something if I let you stay in bed today and you will never know what you've missed."

Emma smiled at her. Other mothers might have already yelled at the misbehaving kid, punished them for wasting their valuable time in such a childish way. But Diane had always believed in the power of reason, that it was never too early to teach her daughter a lesson when she needed one.

"Not to mention you have to keep in mind that just because you are a girl it doesn't mean you have to be weak. Being strong means facing every day, whatever comes. You'll thank me one day for not letting you stay in bed today, even if you don't understand it right now."

"Nat is weak because he won't get out of bed?"

"Well, he's only four, he's still allowed to be weak once in a while. But you remember the last time daddy had some fever, he behaved worse than a child."

"You said daddy is the worst patient ever," Em chuckled.

"That he is."

"Are you dishing me?"

Diane turned around to find him at the door.

"No, I'm just teaching my daughter a lesson."

"Is everything all right? We only have ten more minutes."

"I only need five to put on my clothes," Emma practically jumped out of bed and Diane couldn't have been more proud of her.

"I'll be waiting," Will replied and walked away, leaving them alone.

Diane watched Emma change into her clothes, then combed her hair and they left the room five minutes later hand in hand.

"I want to be just like you when I grow up," Emma said as they walked down the stairs and Diane felt like the happiest mother in the world.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One**

Diane couldn't believe her eyes when she realized it was her daughter waving to her from the other side of the glass door. Of course she didn't come alone, Diane's aunt accompanied the girl to the firm, which would have been fine with her, hadn't they turned up without a warning. They were in the middle of a meeting with a client, she didn't exactly have time for visitors. Of course she couldn't ignore their presence either, but instead of waving back to her, she decided to excuse herself and go talk to them.

Emma greeted her with a hug and was obviously very happy to be in her mother's office again, while someone else was actually there for the first time.

"I know we should have called, but I thought you wouldn't mind a little surprise. Will asked me to pick Emma up, he has a last minute meeting and since I haven't seen your firm yet."

Diane knew she should have invited her aunt to visit and she had planned to do it a couple of times, but something had always come up and she'd forgotten. And the elderly lady made sure she felt guilty about it right away.

"I know, I'm sorry, I've been meaning to invite you over, but it's been really busy around here ever since we opened."

"Well, it looks lovely, so it's certainly not the reason you've been hiding this place from me."

"I haven't been hiding…"

"Is that Christopher?" the woman cut in, noticing the man inside Diane's office.

"Yes, would you mind waiting a little, until we finish this meeting? Evelyn will bring you a cup of tea."

She didn't want to start a discussion about her ex boyfriend in front of her daughter and she was hoping her aunt would understand.

"Sure, but what is he doing in your office?"

"I'll be right with you," she sent a desperate look in Evelyn's direction, who stood up from her desk immediately, "Evelyn, this is my aunt, Mrs. Bennett, this is my assistant, Evelyn Young. Please make sure she has everything she needs."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Bennett," Evelyn shook hands with the lady.

"Please, call me Diane, Mrs. Bennett makes me look so old. Besides I'm divorcing that bastard anyway, so there's no reason I should hear his name every time someone talks to me."

"I knew you two would get along," Diane said smiling then gave a kiss to her daughter, "Mommy needs to go back to this meeting, but it won't take too long, all right?"

"I can't wait to tell you what happened in school today," the girl said with a huge smile."

"And I can't wait to hear all about it."

As she entered the office, she caught Chris looking in their direction. It was the first time he saw Emma, which made Diane feel a little uncomfortable. But what made her feel even more so, was her aunt's presence. She had always liked Christopher, she had been devastated when Diane had broken off the relationship. It had taken her a while until she'd been able to accept that Diane had chosen Will instead of him and this meeting might have been enough to open up those old wounds.

"I'm sorry, where were we?" she asked, taking a seat at her desk again.

"I was just telling Mrs. Colson that her case would be top priority with us," Chris replied, smiling at the client, which made Diane think of what had happened the previous day.

She was still a little angry with him, even though she would never have shown. It was the firm's interest that they got on well with each other no matter what. It had been her decision to hire him after all and it was no question that he was a pretty good lawyer and she simply needed him.

o-o-o

"Your daughter is beautiful," Chris said after the client had left the office a little later.

"Thank you."

"She takes after her mother," he added and Diane already felt uncomfortable again. She wasn't used to getting compliments from him, they had been doing so well staying formal with each other.

"And her father," she added quickly and started packing her things so that she could leave the office as soon as possible.

"Listen, I'm sorry about Jason Parker, I had no intention of stealing him from you."

"I know," she replied without looking at him.

"I don't want this to cause any tension between us."

"It won't," she finally looked at him, "He's still our client, right?"

"Of course."

"Then everything's fine. But if you excuse me, my family is waiting for me."

"I got engaged last weekend."

She was surprised to hear his words, they hadn't discussed any personal things with each other lately, keeping the distance had seemed like the better choice.

"Congratulations," she said, resting her eyes on him for a short moment.

"Thank you," he replied smiling.

"I really wish for you to be happy," she smiled back at him.

"I know. Good night," he said then turned around and walked out of her office.

Of course it didn't take long until he bumped into her aunt on the corridor and although Diane felt like interfering, she decided to stay out of it instead. She knew she owed her aunt an explanation, but she was actually tired of explaining herself, especially because some things simply didn't have an explanation.

"Can we go home now?" Em ran into her office the next moment.

"Yes, sweetie, we're going home," she hugged her daughter, "And on our way you'll tell me if it was worth getting out of bed this morning."


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

"Good morning," he turned to her after shutting down the alarm.

"When did you come home last night?" she asked with a sleepy voice, surprised to find him suddenly beside her, as he hadn't been there the previous night.

"Pretty late, you were already asleep," he kissed her shortly and got out of bed to start getting dressed right away.

"Some important case?" she guessed, judging from his late hours and his hastiness to get ready that morning.

"Yep, we're due in court today."

"And you and I are due in court a week from today," she reminded him, merely to try to initiate some kind of a conversation, which he probably didn't have time for.

"I know. How do you feel about this?" he showed some concern as he buttoned up his shirt and she felt kind of relieved.

"The first time might be a little hard, but we will get used to it."

"If we want to," he shrugged then put on his pants quickly.

"Are you still angry with me for taking the client?"

"No, I'm just…I just hate that we didn't even see each other last night," he stopped dressing for a moment and looked at her.

"We will get used to that too," she sighed.

"I don't want to get used to it. I don't want to get used to going up against you in court or coming home after you've gone to sleep," he was still looking at her and even though she felt the same way, she decided to joke it off.

"You obviously need more sleep, you're talking like a 10 year old right now," she chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a little tensed. I have to leave right away and I probably will be late again tonight," he put on his suit and grabbed his briefcase.

"Don't forget to say hi to the kids, they missed you," she reminded him, even though she was sure he wouldn't forget.

"I won't forget, I miss them too," he walked to her to give her another kiss. She was still sitting on the bed, watching him.

"It's probably time for me to take back all the parental duties from you," she suggested as he was about to exit the door.

He had been the one helping her out for the last months, it was probably time for a switch, even though she wasn't sure she was able to do it yet. To get out of the office in time to pick up the kids, to do the shopping and make dinner, to play with Nat and help Emma with her homework and to read them their bedtime stories. She had only done all these things occasionally lately, they had either divided the tasks or Will had done them all.

"If you can do that, just for a short while, I'm sure things will calm down again eventually."

"Now with Sarah gone, we either ask my aunt or hire a sitter, but I'd rather just do it myself, I'm not sure how though, but it's also my duty."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. You've outdone yourself lately, helping me out, it's time I find the balance between motherhood and my new job."

"I'm afraid I won't make it to our weekly dinner tomorrow either."

"We'll make up for it, I'm sure," she was disappointed to hear this, but still smiled at him and he stepped back from the door to the bedside to kiss her again.

"I love you."

"I love you too, but you're gonna be late," she pushed him away from her carefully.

"Right, I'll try to be here tonight before you fall asleep," he said from the doorway.

"I'd appreciate that."

o-o-o

"Finally! Do you know how late it is?" she didn't mean to raise her voice so much, especially because the kids were already sleeping, but that day had been worse than a nightmare for her.

"I know, I'm sorry, I told you I'd be late."

He had told her and that's why she knew she had no right to let it out on him, especially after months of role reversal, not to mention he looked pretty tired for obvious reasons.

"One more night like this and I'm gonna go nuts," she just couldn't stop her complaints though, she had to tell someone after all, and who else she could have turned to?

"What happened?" he sat down on the side of the bed and gave her a kiss, but even that couldn't stop her from bursting out.

"Everything. I was late to pick up the kids, they got all whiny. They kept telling me you were always there to pick them up in time. They kept asking me where you were, why they only saw you for a minute today. Then the dinner I had in mind was not good for them, I had to make it again. When did our children get so demanding?"

"Well, they must have learnt it from someone?" he chuckled a little, but she couldn't do the same.

"Do you find it funny?"

"No, I'm sorry, but you know as well as I do that there are bad days sometimes."

"Yeah, but they had to choose a day when you're away?"

"They don't choose a day, it just happens."

"Well it should have happened some other day, not when I'm unable to get support from you," she let all her defenses down, now that he was finally there, she wanted to rely on him.

"Come here," he pulled her close and hugged her tightly.

"I am still angry with them," she said after a minute's silence, even though she was already feeling the healing effect of their intimacy.

"I know."

"I don't want to stay angry with them."

"You'll feel much better in the morning."

"Can you just please not leave so early in the morning?"

"I'll see what I can do."

"I'm so pathetic," she said as she separated her body from his to look him in the eye.

"It's just a bad day, it will pass."

"You still have work to do tonight?"

"No, just let me take a shower and I'm all yours."

He kissed her and she started smiling again afterwards.

"While you're in the bathroom, I'll go check on the kids."

She knew she shouldn't have felt any anger, she just wanted to give them another good night kiss, to show them that she loved them no matter what. And his smiling face suggested that he understood her without words.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

That morning almost felt as if they had been reliving the past. The family ate breakfast together and all of them got into the same car to take the kids to the nursery and to school. Neither of them had to leave early, they didn't have to take separate cars, because they were both heading in the same direction.

"Are you going to fight against each other in the courtroom today?" Em asked with excitement in her voice and Diane was wondering why she used that particular verb.

"No, we are not going to fight," she chuckled, "We'll be on opposite sides, that's all. It's very peaceful in there."

"Well, most of the time," Will interfered and he got an eye roll from her right away.

"Oh, I want to see!" Em got even more excited.

"Look what you've done! Could you please not encourage her?" Diane gave Will another look before she replied to her daughter, "I'm sorry sweetie, but children under 14 are not allowed in a courtroom, unless they are testifying or are there to learn, but only if the court allows."

"Could you get me in, pretty please? I promise to be a very good girl!"

The mere thought of having her not yet 7-year-old in the courtroom made Diane nervous, although it was just a civil case. She was too young to experience the real world even in a more peaceful form, she wanted to protect her from it as long as she could.

"We'll talk about it once you're twelve," she suggested and didn't miss the disappointment on her face.

"But that's more than 5 years from now," she calculated quickly and it made Diane smile.

"It will be worth the wait," Will said in a cheering voice and not even an eye roll could express Diane's disapproval. It was really time for her husband to finally grow up.

o-o-o

They entered the courtroom together and only parted at the beginning of the row to occupy their seats on opposite sides. In this early stage of the trial, they had neither their co-councils nor the clients with them and the room was empty too, except for the clerk. They were only there to support the few motions they'd filed earlier. She sat down and opened her notebook to check something when a piece of paper appeared in front of her. She opened the folded paper and read the sentences written on it: '_May the best man win. Don't forget that I love you_'. She turned her head to his direction with a smile and her lips formed a silent I love you, right in time before the judge entered the courtroom.

They both stood up facing the bench where Judge Patrick Morgan seemed definitely surprised looking from one lawyer to the other.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gardner, on opposite sides. How did this happen?" he asked, obviously waiting for an answer from one or the other.

Hearing herself addressed like that caused Diane to smirk. She'd kept her name after the marriage, because recognizability was important in her job, not to mentioned she loved her name and Will hadn't insisted on her taking up his either. She was only ever called Mrs. Gardner in hotels, restaurants, never in the courtroom. It was obviously an inside joke from the judge, who knew both of them too well, which explained his sudden astonishment as well.

After a couple of seconds he motioned for them to step closer, meaning he wanted to have a conversation with them off the record.

"Is it the first time you are on opposite sides?" he asked and even though the question was a bit weird under those circumstances, Diane knew they had to answer nevertheless.

"Yes," she replied and was waiting for his next question already.

"Are you sure about this? Attorneys are usually at each other's throat, especially in cases like this one. "

"We will take our chances," she said, not liking that he wanted to dive into their personal life in the courtroom. Had he asked this some place else, she would have been fine with it, not to mention could have reacted differently than there in that moment. She couldn't just joke it off, which she wanted to do. It was more than enough that they had their own concerns about going up against each other, there was no reason for him to interfere with that.

"We'll be fine," Will reassured him as well and he obviously had no chance but to believe them.

He let them go and they walked back to their places side by side. They looked at each other shortly when they parted again, this was it then, there was no way back.

"I understand you have a motion, Miss Lockhart," the judge addressed her properly this time, which made her smile.

"Yes, Your Honor. We'd like the court to dismiss the case."


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

On their short drive to Diane's office neither of them brought up what had happened in the courtroom. Diane was rather pissed, but she didn't want to let it out on Will, even though she supposed that he was probably gloating inside. But it was just a pre-trial hearing after all, it's not like she'd lost already. And it definitely hadn't been the first time she'd lost a few motions, it just felt a little differently now that he was on the opposite side.

"I can't believe that he denied almost all my motions," she finally said, deciding that talking about what bothered her was better than keeping it inside.

"A one to three ratio is not that bad," Will shrugged as if he hadn't given it too much thought, but she just couldn't believe that. She knew too well how much he loved to win, just as much as she did. And the worst thing about working on opposite sides was knowing that one of them would have to lose for the other to win.

"You only say that because yours are the three."

"Well, what can I say? I've learnt from the best," he tried to flatter her, and it kind of worked, because she felt like kissing him for that remark, not that she acted upon that urge, she was still pissed and couldn't calm down just like that.

"You're playing basketball with him, that's your secret," she put two and two together and was actually proud of herself for finding an actual reason to blame him, simply because it felt good to blame someone.

"No one stops you for joining the team," Will said chuckling.

"Well someone has to be with our children while you're sweating to get in the judges good graces," she chuckled as well at this thought. She couldn't really imagine herself on that court anymore.

"You used to love watching me play and now you're mocking me?"

"With love," she said, placing a kiss on his cheek, the teasing helped after all, she was feeling much better already.

"Then you're excused."

"So what about our dinner tonight?" she asked as he stopped the car.

"I wouldn't miss it, it's been two weeks."

"You'd better not," she threatened him playfully then kissed his lips, "You might have won a battle, but the war is not over yet," she whispered in his ear and pulled back, but he softly grabbed her neck and pulled her in for another kiss.

"You are a soar loser," he whispered in her ear this time and she kissed his cheek again before she got out of the car with a smile on her face.

o-o-o

"Please tell me you're calling to say you'll be here in five minutes," she answered the phone without saying hello.

He was supposed to pick her up ten minutes ago and she had to hold herself back from calling him before he did, but her self-control didn't last a second longer.

"I'm sorry. Something came up, I need to stay another two hours at least."

"So much about our night," she was disappointed, even though she should have seen that coming after the previous week.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," she knew that he would she also knew that she had no right to get angry with him. It was just the nature of their job, sometimes it included late hours.

"I know, just hurry home, all right?"

"I will."

After she hung up she looked around in her office, considering if she should go home now to the empty house, or pick up the kids from her aunt and try to have a fun evening without Will. But as her eyes fell on the file of that morning she decided to use this extra time to dig into their common case with Will, to make sure next time she'd come out as the winner.

o-o-o

If it wasn't for the sound of footsteps on the floor about two hours later, she probably would have forgotten to go home that night.

"I thought you'd left already," Chris appeared in her doorway, with his briefcase and coat in hand.

"I wanted to check something, but I kind of lost track of time. I should be going home too, just need to call a cab first," she blamed it on tiredness that this last part slipped out and she wasn't surprised hearing his words at all.

"Nonsense, I'll drive you home."

"Oh no, you don't need to do that, we live in opposite directions."

She didn't feel like having any out of work contact with him and not only because she knew Will would have cut her head off for it. She valued their work relationship, but always kept the distance with Chris, and the Parker case clearly proved that it was the wise thing to do.

"I insist, it's the least I can do."

She knew she wouldn't be able to change his mind and she really appreciated the gesture, even though she already prepared herself for the awkwardness that would follow.

"All right, let's go then," she grabbed her purse and coat and walked out the office followed by him.

If she hadn't been angry with Will before now was the time to start blaming him for this and again it just felt good to have someone else to blame.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

Will's timing couldn't have been worse. Diane was about to open the front door when he pulled up the driveway just in time to see the other car drive off beside him and she knew that the chance of him not recognizing the driver was pretty slim. She waved to him and opened the garage door so he could roll in.

She was waiting for him at the door and wasn't sure what to expect after the unfortunate encounter. She had a feeling he wouldn't be too pleased, even though everything that had happened and would happen that night was his fault alone. Still she considered if she should start with explaining herself, just to spare him from making things up in his head about what he'd just witnessed. She knew that he trusted her enough not to talk too much into it, but she also knew that he never liked the idea of them working together, let alone being together outside the office, if only for a car drive.

"Hey," she greeted him with a flustered smile and gave him a kiss when he arrived next to her.

"Hey," he replied and it was easy to tell that he looked more tired than angry.

She entered the house, took off her coat and went straight into the kitchen. They hadn't had dinner after all, she was starving already.

"Are you hungry?" she asked while observing the content of the fridge.

"Not really," he said from the doorway, looking at her and she knew that they simply had to talk about what had happened if they wanted this awkwardness to be over.

"I lost track of time in the office and Chris offered to drive me home," she turned away from him again and took out a box then put it in the microwave.

"You could have called me," she heard him say and it was easy to notice the disappointment in his voice.

"I wasn't sure if you're done yet," he had a point and she was ashamed to admit that this hadn't occurred to her at all.

"You could have asked."

"I didn't want to disturb you," she lied and she wasn't surprised that he was aware of it.

"That's nonsense, you didn't even think about calling me, did you?"

"No, I didn't," she finally admitted and she started to feel guilty for not calling him and lying to his face, "But you said you'd be working late."

"I said two more hours, it was two more hours," he had a point again, but he sounded way too serious and she simply didn't like his tone. She'd forgotten to call him, so what? She got home right away, he was home as well, did it really still matter?

"I told you I lost track of time," she took out a fork and turned to the microwave again.

"It happens too often when you're working with him."

It was the same old record and she was honestly tired of hearing it all over again and defending herself all the time.

"I wasn't working with him, I was working alone, in my office. Do you need a surveillance video to prove it?" she intentionally sounded sarcastic, it was time he noticed how ridiculous these conversations were becoming.

"No."

"You know I'm starting to get tired of these accusations. We were supposed to spend this evening together, you cancelled on me last minute and now you question my whereabouts?" she didn't raise her voice yet, but she sounded firm and it obviously made him a little insecure.

"I wasn't, I was just…he took you home, I wanted to take you home."

"Then you should have been there to pick me up," she said, looking straight into his eyes and this time she was the one who sounded disappointed.

"But I couldn't be there, I can't always be there and it annoys the hell out of me."

"You have serious problems," she said harshly as she took the food out of the microwave. She probably shouldn't have judged him because in a reversed situation she might have felt similarly herself.

"Me? You are the one spending your days with your ex."

"He is my employee," she put the box on the table and looked at him.

"What happened to the feminist in you? Hiring female lawyers is not an option anymore?" he sounded sarcastic and it just ticked her off enormously.

"You want me to hire only female lawyers just to make sure you don't have a reason to be jealous?" she couldn't believe that he'd actually said something so silly.

"It's an option," he shrugged and she simply wanted to grab him and shake him at that moment.

"You're pathetic."

"I might be pathetic, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Are you implying something?"

"Yes, I am, I don't want to see that man anywhere near our house again," he sounded way too serious and it made her really angry. He couldn't have actually thought to instruct her like that.

"Are you threatening me?" she gave him another chance to back off, but he looked deep into her eyes as he replied.

"Yes."

"I…I can't believe this, you're out of your mind," she raised her voice now and as she grabbed her food she felt the urge to throw it at his face.

"I don't care, just make sure it never happens again," he sounded angry and she just couldn't believe this was actually happening.

"You're…I don't even bare to be in the same room with you right now," she said as she passed by him.

"Diane…" he touched her arm, but she shook his hand off.

"Leave me alone. You're lucky the kids aren't home to witness this. And just so we're clear, I'm not sharing a bed with you tonight."


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

She left the kitchen and ran up the stairs straight into their room. Took a look at the plate in her hand then tossed it onto the nightstand. She wasn't hungry anymore. She got rid of her jacket and pants, entered the bathroom, undressed completely, stepped into the shower and closed the cabin. Only when she felt the hot water running down her skin could she actually start breathing normally again.

He had promised to make up for missing their dinner and they'd ended up having such an ugly fight instead. She was angry with him for being so stupid about all this. Maybe it hadn't been her best decision to hire Chris, but she couldn't just get rid of him because of Will's unbearable jealousy. The firm's interest was more important to her and if he couldn't deal with that it was his problem.

She suddenly heard a noise and a few seconds later she saw him standing in front of the shower cabin. She stared at his silhouette without saying a word, waiting for him to say something and after an endless moment he opened the cabin. He only had his underpants on, so it was pretty clear he didn't show up to talk to her. He looked her up and down and she felt like smacking him in the face for being so shameless.

"I'm such a moron," he finally said with a boyish look on his face and although she was still angry with him, she couldn't stay indifferent. Even after so many years, she still found him irresistible.

She looked him up and down, considering whether she should stay angry with him and send him away or forgive him and make love to him right there and while she couldn't really get rid of her boiling anger, her desire for him was getting less bearable with each passing second.

"At least we agree on something tonight," she said, still not showing any sign of forgiveness, she was kind of waiting for something more, it wasn't everyday that they had such a fight, he had to realize that he wasn't able to solve everything with one word.

"I just hate him, I can't help it," he added, obviously noticing that she was still reluctant to forgive him.

"Oh shut up," she silenced him, because if there was someone she didn't want to talk about at that moment it was another man.

He looked at her with the most confused face, because she still didn't send him away, but she didn't exactly invite him inside the cabin either. The whole staring at each other thing started to get ridiculous and it's not like he needed an invitation if he wanted to join her. Of course she had been the one shutting him out, so probably she had to be the one making the first move if she wanted him.

"Do you want me to…" he started a question, but she didn't wait for him to finish, she put her hand on his mouth.

She looked him in the eye then took a step in his direction.

"I want you to show me how you feel, let it all out, this is your chance, you'd better not ruin it again," she challenged him and pulled back her hand.

He looked into her eyes, probably to determine if she was serious. She stood his gaze and didn't touch him again. In fact she stepped backwards and pressed her back against the wall. He reached out his hand and touched her face gently. She was surprised, but his touch made her shiver. She wanted him so badly already and she was sure that he knew it, so she didn't understand where the sudden gentleness was coming from. She certainly had different feelings at that moment. His hand slid down her neck, her shoulder, her arm to her hand, when it could have made its way on her chest, touching her breasts.

"You really want to know how I feel?" he asked, waiting for a last approval and she just nodded because due to the tension between them she was barely functioning anymore.

He stepped into the cabin, not taking his eyes off her and closed it behind him. The water was still pouring from the shower, so he got all vet as he stepped under it. She resisted the urge to touch him, she wanted him to lead them further. As his vet lips got close to hers they only touched each other softly, but that was like the last spark before the fire broke out.


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Chapter is rated M!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

He took her face between his hands to support it so his lips could start their eager journey on hers. She didn't mind the intensity with which he almost attacked her, it was exactly what she'd been waiting for. He barely left her the opportunity to gasp for air, he invaded her mouth again and again, while his hands slowly slid down her neck, her arms, just to slide up again from her waist.

She put her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer, encouraged him to kiss her again and again, to push her to the wall, to do whatever he wanted with her. She wanted to feel how much he wanted her, how much he hated the idea of anyone else in her life. She wanted him to turn all his jealousy into desire and she wanted to feel that on her own body. She didn't shut him down anymore, she wasn't angry with him anymore, she returned his kisses and after digging into his hair, her hands ran up and down his back, with her nails leaving marks on his skin.

After the passionate kisses they'd shared, his lips moved away from hers and made their way down her neck, her chest. As he started to caress her breasts she leaned even closer to the wall and when he continued his way downwards on her body she dig her nails into his shoulders. He forced her to open her legs with his head and as she felt his tongue touching her there, she couldn't bear it anymore. It wasn't his tongue that she wanted to feel inside of her, no matter how aroused she was already, he couldn't fully satisfy her that way.

"I…want…your…pants…now," she could barely utter the words and she wasn't even sure he heard her, because she could still feel his tongue inside of her, until he pulled back and kissing her upper body all over again his lips were soon back on her mouth.

"They are all yours," he whispered against her lips before he kissed them and her hands already made their way down his back to grab his pants. But instead of simply pulling them down, she decided to pay him back a little and suddenly switched places with him, pushing him against the wall this time. With her lips placing kisses on his chest, she slowly reached his pants and pulled them down.

Their foreplay had been far too long already, all their bodies wanted now was for him to move inside of her, so that they could experience the highest pleasure they could share. Her body ascended to his, he kissed her once more then he grabbed her waist and turned around to push her against the wall and keep doing that until they both reached the end point. Their harmony was as perfect as ever, there could be no doubts that they belonged together.

"Need some help with this?" he touched her shower gel and the opportunity to feel his hands all over her body was too good to pass, even right after their passionate lovemaking.

"Only if you do too," she smiled and was sure he wouldn't say no to the offer either.

He smiled at her then put some gel onto his hands and started applying it to her skin from her neck, down her chest, caressing each part of her body with his firm hands. He reached her legs and ran his hands along them one by one. Then he took some more gel and turned her around to reach her back. The sensation of his hands on her skin was the most wonderful pampering she ever longed for.

"Your turn," he said close to her ear and she turned around to repeat his moves. She covered all his body with her hands, except for the most intimate parts that he had left untouched on her as well.

Once she was done they both stepped under the shower and washed the gel off their bodies. They resisted the urge to touch each other for a short while, because both of them knew what would follow. She took the shower gel and put a small amount in his hand then guided it towards the gap between her legs. He touched her so gently at first, but soon she felt his finger inside of her, which made her bite her lips and press her back against the wall, they were obviously playing a dangerous game again.

When it was her turn to wash his intimate parts she tried to be gentle as well, but she also had to make sure to arouse him just as much as he'd done to her. They should have changed the hot water to cold already, because the cabin was already full of steam for two different reasons. They washed each other off, touching the other once again and they knew they couldn't stop there, it had to happen at least once more, they were too far gone already.

"Do you think we should make it to the bedroom?" he asked, moving close to her after he'd turned off the shower.

"We should try," she kissed him shortly before she pulled the curtain aside. He reached for the towel and covered both of them in it, with their bodies hugging each other underneath. Then he pulled her with him slowly until they were out of the bathroom, inside their bedroom. There he took the towel off them and dried her skin rashly, before pushing her on the bed. He quickly ran the towel all over his body then landed on top of her.

"I want to make love to you all night," he whispered in her ear and she kissed him as a reply, assuring him that their wish was the same.


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: This is my first attempt to write Elsbeth Tascioni. Enjoy! (:  
**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

"A Miss Tascioni is here to see you," Evelyn announced from the doorway and Diane's eyes followed the red headed woman standing outside.

She'd seen her name in her schedule that morning, but she had no idea what was the nature of her visit. Evelyn had told her the woman had been rather secretive on the phone, the word 'weird' had also slipped out, which made Diane all the more curious.

"Let her in," she put down her glasses and sat back in her chair.

"Good afternoon, may I?" her guest stopped in the doorway for a minute obviously waiting for her approval to step closer.

"Come on in, Miss Tascioni," Diane smiled at her encouragingly and observed as the woman entered with two bags in her hand, which she carefully placed beside the armchair.

"Hi, I'm Elsbeth Tascioni," she held out her hand in Diane's direction, who shook it.

"Diane Lockhart, nice to meet you. Please, take a seat."

"Thank you," she replied smiling and sat down, then her gaze fell on something else at once, "Is that your family? You look so wonderful together."

"Yes," Diane smiled, turning around a little to have a look at the photo that had been taken almost a year ago on Emma's birthday. It was probably time to change it for a more recent one.

"I have a little boy, he's five," Elsbeth said proudly, "Already beats me with computers."

"They grow up so fast," Diane sighed, turning in her direction again.

"Yes," Elsbeth replied and stayed silent for a while, "Anyway, you might be wondering why I'm here, I mean I hope you do."

"As a matter of fact I am, I understand that you're an attorney as well."

"Yes, but don't worry, I'm not here to sue you or anything," she joked.

"I'm so relieved," Diane chuckled, she kind of liked the woman already.

"I love your earrings, they go so well with your eyes," she complemented her and Diane found it more sweet than disturbing, it kind of suited her to say something like that.

"Thank you, got them from my husband."

"I wish my hubby would know how to choose jewelry, he's lucky I'm not into them too much."

Diane could see that the woman was rather nervous now, probably not knowing how to bring up the reason she'd come there so she decided to help her a little.

"May I ask what is the exact nature of your visit?"

Elsbeth looked at her for a short while before she opened her mouth again, to close it just as quickly, then she took a deep breath.

"I came to beg, actually," it sounded as if she was joking again, "I'm sorry, I know how that sounds, but it's the truth nevertheless."

"Beg for what?" Diane still had no clue what she was talking about.

"For a job," Elsbeth replied quickly and looked away at once, "I know your firm is new and you're probably not hiring new people, especially not someone from the street, but ever since I came back from maternal leave, I don't seem to find my place at our old firm, I need a new challenge and working for you, it would be like a dream come true," she said these last words looking in Diane's eyes again.

Diane was flattered by her words, it felt good to have a lawyer actually knocking on her door already and she couldn't help hearing Will's voice in her head: _"Hiring female lawyers is not an option anymore?" _She looked at the woman again, who obviously felt a little ashamed of what she was doing, but she understood her reasons. It was hard to find a job at those times, just as hard as it was to hire good lawyers for a firm that was yet to make a name for itself. The only problem was that she had absolutely no idea what kind of a lawyer this woman was.

"I suppose you've brought your resume," she replied without giving away any of her inner thoughts, she didn't want her to hope too early or lose the hope she might have been carrying inside.

"Of course," Elsbeth rashly picked up one of her bags and after a short search she pulled out a piece of paper.

Diane read through it quickly and she was quite impressed. Her publications alone spoke for themselves and she apparently shared her love for arts as well.

"It looks impressive," Diane said, looking in her eyes and she could see that the compliment brought a small smile on her face, "I need some time to think about it," she added honestly and Elsbeth didn't seem disappointed.

"I understand, just take all the time you need."

"I'll get back to you, by the end of the week."

"That sounds wonderful, thank you. And even if the answer is no, I'm just glad we've met and who knows we might see each other in court?"

"Yes, that's a possibility," she smiled.

"Well then, good bye, Miss Lockhart," Elsbeth said after she grabbed all her stuff and stood up.

"It's Diane," she smiled at her and Elsbeth did the same.

"Good bye, Diane, I really hope to hear from you soon."

"You will."

It didn't take long after the woman had left her office for Diane to decide that she wanted to hire her.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

The kids greeted Will with particular joy that evening when he arrived in the middle of dinner. It was understandable, because they hadn't seen him since the previous morning, not to mention he hadn't been home for dinner in the last few days. Even Nat, who was normally not even half as enthusiastic as his sister, ran to greet his dad at the door.

Diane was happy to see him as well, the memories of their night had kept coming back to her all through the day. She couldn't remember the last time they had spent such a wonderful time together.

"Missed you," he said, leaning close to her for a kiss and she probably replied more passionately than she should have in front of the kids, but she couldn't help it, she'd missed him too.

The fight had brought them even closer together. It had been hard to say good bye to him in the morning even for a day and the fact that he was home early implied that he might have felt the same way.

"How was work?" she asked him when they all sat back at the table to continue dinner.

'I'd rather not talk about it," he answered eloquently.

She knew he hadn't exactly been happy at the firm lately and not only because of the late hours. There was a reason he had acted so foolishly the previous night, he'd been too frustrated. Maybe their fight had helped to open his eyes, to realize that something wasn't working right.

"Then tell us about your court hearing," Em interfered and the expression sounded so strangely from her mouth that Diane let out a slight chuckle, "Mom said you would tell us about it."

Will sent a questioning look in Diane's direction, who replied with an encouraging smile, it was time for him to do his share of talking with the kids.

"Well it was short and boring, you didn't miss a thing," he shrugged.

"And what about the fight?" Em asked, obviously not satisfied with his short, meaningless reply.

"There was no fight," he shrugged once again and Diane had to cough slightly to remind him that their daughter needed way more specific answers to be satisfied.

"Who won?" Em finally asked the most important question.

"Neither of us did," Will replied to Diane's biggest surprise. He could have gloated with his results, yet he chose to stay diplomatic, "The end is still far away," he looked at Diane as he said that and she really appreciated how he handled it. She didn't feel so bad about losing to him anymore.

Emma seemingly ran out of questions, her father's replies might have confused her, so she continued eating silently.

"I'm hiring a new lawyer this week," Diane broke the silence after a while to keep the conversation going, "I hope _she_ can start as soon as possible, _she_ brings in new clients as well, just what the firm needs right now," she emphasized the pronoun both times and didn't miss Will's reaction.

It was true that her plan to hire Elsbeth had something to do with his sarcastic remarks from the previous day, but not in a way he might have thought. She didn't mean to prove anything with it, she didn't plan to do it for him, she wanted to do it for herself. Because he had been right, she did believe in that women should help women and she felt like Elsbeth could benefit from their work relationship just as much as the firm would benefit from her knowledge and connections.

If additionally her decision to hire a woman also made her husband satisfied, because it proved that she had been listening to him, then it just made her feel even better about it.

o-o-o

"Diane?" he whispered, probably guessing that she might have been asleep already, but she wasn't.

"Hm?" she replied without opening her eyes.

She was in fact very sleepy, they hadn't wasted too much time on that vital activity the previous night after all.

"You're still awake," he said in normal tone this time and lay on the bed next to her.

"Half," she mumbled and turned in his direction slowly, "You do know that woman could find me attractive as well, right?" she said in a sleepy voice and the look on his face was more than worth rolling over for.

"What are you talking about?"

"I have a private investigator, who's gay. What if she took me home one night, would you be jealous of her as well?"

"Are you all right?" Will asked with a confused look on his face and Diane found it really adorable.

"I want to sleep, let me sleep," she finished her line of thoughts and rolled back to her other side, but she soon felt his body pressed against hers.

"You're teasing me even when you're half asleep, how on earth do you do that?"

"It comes naturally," she smiled with her eyes closed.

"Just so you know if you ever feel like bringing in another woman, I don't have any objections."

She couldn't help chuckling, his payback was just as original as her teasing.

"In your dreams."

"So am I allowed to dream about it?" he asked in the same tone.

She finally opened her eyes and turned her head towards him.

"Just so we're clear, the only woman you are allowed to ever dream about is me."

He kissed her right away, implying that he fully accepted her terms then her head fell back on the pillow and she soon fell asleep.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty**

Entering the building where Diane had worked for more than a decade as an outsider now, felt rather unnerving, she hadn't though it would affect her that deeply.

"Is everything all right?" Elsbeth asked after the two women stepped inside the elevator.

"Yes," Diane replied quickly, she wasn't aware that her feelings were so obvious that even someone who only knew her for three weeks could notice them.

"I'm excited to finally meet your husband," Elsbeth changed the topic tactfully at once and Diane appreciated it.

They understood each other quite well with her new associate, they had even shared a drink in a bar one afternoon after work before returning to their maternal duties. Diane had decided to take the case away from Chris and make Elsbeth her second chair so that Will wouldn't have to meet the guy again regularly. She was tired of defending herself all the time and she didn't want to be accused of poking the bear either, so it was the best solution for everyone. Elsbeth was a fast learner and Diane knew that she could count on her for support during the depositions.

"Diane, it's so nice to see you," the receptionist greeted her with a smile on her face.

"Hello, Karen. Nothing has really changed here since I left."

"Not really, we miss you though."

"It's a mutual feeling," she smiled, "Is my husband in his office?"

"I think so."

"Will you show Miss Tascioni to the conference room? I want to have a few words with Will."

"Of course."

She left the two women alone and headed to Will's office.

"Knock, knock," she said from the doorway and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

"Hey," he smiled at her.

"I've come to talk to your boss because he makes you work too hard, but then I realized that you are him," she chuckled and approached him to sit in his lap.

It was a spontaneous idea, but it felt just right getting so close to him at once. Reminded her of old times, when she could do this regularly, she never heard him complain. She wanted for them to have some alone time before entering the arena again for another round. She was aware that depositions could get uglier than trials, it was essential to remind each other that no matter what happened inside that room they would always be on the same side.

"So what can I do for you?" he asked after greeting her with a kiss.

"Take me to dinner tonight," she suggested promptly to his biggest surprise.

It had been more than a month since their last dinner date and she started to lose her patience. He'd kept making promises lately that he'd ended up breaking all the time.

"That's very short notice," he smiled, probably to look less guilty than he felt.

"I spent half a day preparing the Thanksgiving meal last week, just because you insisted that we stay home so you can work all day and only showed up to eat," she didn't sound angry, didn't accuse him of anything, it was merely an observation and a reminder for him that they were due a night out.

"I had no choice," he reminded her.

"I know, but it's time you make up for it."

"Tonight?"

"Yes. I'll talk to your boss, maybe I can convince him," she said in a seductive tone and he was apparently in favor of the idea.

"How?"

"Let's see, I can use my charming smile."

She knew that he loved her smile, but she was sure it wouldn't be so easy to charm him into this.

"Hm…not sure it would be enough," he confirmed her suspicion.

"Then what about something more intimate? Like a kiss," she suggested casually and saw that he didn't need too much more convincing.

"Sounds better…for a start," he smiled and she leaned close to him, just to be interrupted by a knock on the door.

She jumped from his lap and took a step away from him.

"Yes?" Will asked and his second chair for the case, Lucy looked inside.

"Everyone is waiting for us in the conference room. Oh, hello Diane," she added when she spotted the other woman.

"Hello," Diane said shortly, trying to hide her frustration for being interrupted, especially by her.

"We'll be right there," Will replied and Lucy quickly closed the door.

"Her skirts are still too short, didn't we have a dress code here?" Diane asked sarcastically.

"I remember the time when your skirts were even shorter than hers," he replied, pulling her in his lap again.

"Really? How do you remember such small details?"

"Small? Yes, your skirts were indeed very small," he replied, placing a hand on the side of her skirt, slightly touching her legs.

"I can only hope it's not a habit of yours to observe the lengths of your employees' skirts. Ever heard of sexual harassment suits?" she teased him, not being bothered by the fact that others were already waiting for them.

"I have, but in case someone decides to sue me I can hire my wife to defend me," he said as his hand slipped under her skirt, fondling her thighs. It was rather disturbing in that particular moment, but she still didn't make him stop.

"And what makes you think I would defend you and not divorce you?"

"Because you know me and I know you," he replied and pulled back his hand from under her skirt, probably realizing that it wasn't the right time to turn her on, they had a whole day of hard work ahead of them.

"I want to kiss you now, but I'm afraid that someone might interrupt us again."

The second the last word left her mouth, his lips were already on hers, trying to prove her wrong, just when the phone started to ring.

"Yes?" Will sounded annoyed as he answered the call, "I have depositions in a few minutes…Today at 6?" he looked at Diane who rolled her eyes, "I have a business dinner," he said quickly, smiling at her, "All right, tomorrow at 10. Bye."

Diane leaned forward and kissed him right after he put down the phone, she was already looking forward to their 'business dinner'.

"Looks like my methods are working after all," she chuckled as she stood up from his lap and he pulled her back for another kiss before finally letting her go and followed her.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter Forty-One**

"Your new hire is something," he brought up the depositions for the first time during dinner.

She'd tried to avoid talking about it, it wasn't the safest subject between them after all, the night was supposed to be about them, not their common case.

"You like her?" she inquired curiously. She was aware of the effect Elsbeth had on people who were meeting her for the first time.

"It's hard to tell, she's with the opposition," he sounded kind of bitter, which was understandable considering how the depositions turned out in favor of Diane's client that day.

"As long as you still like me," she teased and was surprised not to get a smile from him in return.

"You make it very hard when you come at us like that. You used to be on the other side. How did this happen again?"

She wasn't exactly ready for such a question, but she couldn't blame him for feeling a little low, "Money talks," she shrugged and tried to divert the conversation from the case, "But did you just say it was hard for you to like me?" she teased him, knowing he couldn't have meant it that way.

"It was a temporary thing, only lasted a few seconds I promise," he smiled at her this time and she really wasn't angry.

"Don't think you can get away with this so easily," she threatened him playfully.

"Don't forget that we're in public. It would hurt our reputation if people saw us arguing."

"We are working on opposite sides of a case, what else do they expect?"

"So is this a business dinner? Should we talk settlement?"

"Who said that we want to settle?"

"My bad."

Their impromptu bantering was interrupted by the ringing of Diane's phone.

"It's Emma," she said before she answered the call, "Hey sweetie, is everything all right?"

"I want to go home, mom please come and take me home," she heard hear daughter's desperate voice, which also indicated that she must have been crying.

"Why? What happened?"

"I can't tell you on the phone. But please hurry!"

"Are you all right? Is Nat all right?" she asked in a worried voice, glancing at Will who tried to put together the pieces and didn't take his eyes off her face.

"Yes, we're fine, I just want to go home, please," she practically begged her, which was not exactly like Emma. If she acted like that it must have had a reason and she suspected that the reason might have been her aunt.

"We'll pick you up in a half an hour," she promised and she could hear the relief in Em's voice as she replied.

"I'll be waiting."

"Em wants us to pick them up, she must have had a fight with Aunt Diane. She sounded like she was crying," she didn't want to be a parent who jumped every time her kids needed her, but she also knew that Emma wouldn't have called if it hadn't been necessary.

"It's really not the best solution to have her watch the kids. Your aunt can be very controlling," Will expressed his concern over the subject again. It was easy for him to do so, considering she wasn't his relative, since his family lived in Baltimore.

"But she's all we have and she's better than some stranger," she felt like she repeated herself, obviously this was still a sensitive topic to discuss.

"It worked while they were little, but Emma's getting more and more self-conscious, these fights could become regular," she liked the way Will paid attention to the kids, noticing the change in their behavior even when he was preoccupied with work most of the time.

"I know, I'll try to talk to Emma, she's old enough to understand," she believed in her daughter's common sense, of course she had to choose some other time to discuss it with her, tonight was definitely out of the question.

"I really wished Sarah would live here, the kids love her."

"They do, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Sarah was definitely a perfect sitter, but she didn't visit them more than once or twice a year and Diane had no sisters of her own or other family members to count on.

"We should consider hiring a sitter, someone they might like. It's only once a week after all."

They had talked about this a few times already. Will didn't really like Diane's aunt, but he never questioned her capability to look after their kids either.

"I don't know, I'll think about this. But we really should go now."

"I'll get the check."

o-o-o

All four of them arrived home an hour later, Nat was already sleeping in the car, so Will carried him to his bed right away, while Diane made sure Emma got to her bed as well. On their way home Emma told them about her fight with Aunt Diane and while Diane tried to be supportive of her she also had to think of the other side of the story. She decided to have a talk with both her daughter and her aunt in the next days to clear this up and decide if hiring a stranger to look after the kids was really necessary.

When she left Emma's room she saw that the light was still on downstairs so she went down the stairs.

"I thought we could use another glass of wine to finish up our evening," Will came out of the kitchen with a wine bottle and two glasses.

"Perfect idea," she took the glasses from his hand and gave him a kiss.

They sat down on the couch in the living room and Will poured both of them from the golden liquid.

"What should we drink to?" she asked.

"To us and the children we couldn't live without."

"They make our life complete," she smiled hearing his perfect toast.

"Even when they ruin our night," Will slightly chuckled.

"I don't feel like anything was ruined tonight, do you?"

"Not really, it has just gotten better," he smiled and put his arm around her.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty-Two**

"Diane, may I have a word with you?" Elsbeth knocked on Diane's door which was always open, she wanted to show her employees that they could turn to her anytime.

"Of course, come in," she said and closed down her laptop while Elsbeth took a seat.

Diane had been trying to find some baby-sitter candidates to interview. After listening to both sides about the fight Emma had had with her aunt the other night and talking to her daughter, she decided that probably Will had been right. They should try to find someone else to look after the kids when they were both away from home. Someone they could trust with this task.

"You said you have a five-year-old boy, right?" Diane could see that her question caught Elsbeth off guard, even though they'd already talked about personal matters during the few weeks they'd been working together right from their very first meeting.

"Yes," she replied, waiting for an explanation behind the question.

"I just thought I ask if you happen to know someone responsible who I could trust to look after my kids, at least once a week," she thought it couldn't hurt to ask someone who might have had experience on this field, rather than pick a stranger online.

"As a matter of fact I do," she sounded relieved and Diane also felt relief hearing her words, "My sister, Eve. She's in college, she always needs some extra cash and my son loves spending time with her."

"Really?" Diane replied with a smile, it was almost too easy. Looks like Elsbeth arrived just at the right time, "Can I meet her?"

"Sure, she can come in next week, I'll talk to her tonight."

"Wonderful! Thank you! You've saved my day."

"Good to hear that, especially because I also need some help."

o-o-o

Diane was reading in bed when Will arrived home that night. It was Friday, so she'd chosen a novel instead of work. The kids were already asleep so she finally had some time for herself, which she really needed.

"Hey," Will approached her for a kiss.

"Hey, long day again?" she put the book aside as he sat down on the side of the bed and he looked very tired.

"Tell me about it. I swear I'm turning off my phone for the weekend," he took the phone out of his pocket and tossed it on the nightstand to give emphasis to his words.

"Sometimes I really wish we could do that," she sighed.

"We should have chosen another profession. Is it too late already?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know. Writer? I could stay home all day."

She couldn't help the chuckle escaping her lips, imagining him as a writer was a funny thought.

"What?"

"Nothing. Maybe in another life."

"You're a bundle of joy tonight."

"Am I? Well, I have some good news that might cheer you up. I may have found a sitter and your sister's coming to visit."

"Damn, I forgot to call Sarah back," he looked at his phone again, but didn't reach for it, "When is she coming?"

"On Sunday."

"So she'll be the sitter?"

"No, I have no idea how long she's staying, but I got recommended someone who might be fit to look after the kids. I'm meeting her next week in my office. I hope you can be there too."

"I'll make the time, it's important," he replied without any hesitation.

"Thank you," she rewarded his answer with a kiss, it made her really happy that she could count on him in such decision, "Have you had dinner yet?"

"No, I'm starving."

"Why don't we go down to the kitchen and find you something to eat?"

"You just stay here and read, I'll find something."

"No, I'm coming with you," she wanted to take care of him now, like he'd taken care of her when she'd been the one coming home late almost each night.

He looked at her for a few seconds, probably considering if he should keep arguing with her, then he leaned forward for another kiss, accepting her terms.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter Forty-Three**

"I think now might be the best time to talk about why I came to visit," Sarah announced ceremoniously at the end of the Sunday dinner, "I wanted to tell you in person that I'm going to have a baby."

"When?" Emma reacted first while Diane and Will were still processing the fantastic news.

"In a few months," Sarah replied to her niece's question then accepted the congratulations of her brother and sister-in-law. The only person who didn't really care about the news was Nat.

"Is it going to be a girl or a boy?" Em's next question came the fastest again.

"It's too early to tell."

"I would want a sister, boys are boring," Em's next remark made everyone laugh, even Diane who didn't really mind that her daughter wasn't interested in boys yet.

"Next time you visit us, will you bring the baby with you?" the girl kept the questions coming.

"No, we'll have to go visit Aunt Sarah ourselves, she'll have to stay home with the baby," Diane replied instead of Sarah.

"We're going on a trip to Aunt Sarah? When?" she already seemed a little too excited.

"In the summer."

"But that is so far away!" Emma's enthusiasm suddenly turned into disappointment.

"I'm sure school will keep you busy until then," Sarah tried to reason with the girl, "Time will fly by."

"Which reminds me, don't you still have some homework to do?" Diane's maternal duties kicked in at the mention of school, it was Sunday evening already and Emma hadn't spent too much time with her homework during the weekend.

"Not much."

"Let me help you with that," Sarah offered and Diane appreciated it very much. She knew that her sister-in-law's going to be a great mother, she could only hope her husband had come on board with the situation as well, "I'll take Nat with me too, I can play with him while helping Em," Sarah offered and Diane simply hugged her in return.

"I'm really happy for you and we need to talk tonight. No wine for you though," she added playfully.

"Of course," Sarah smiled and took the kids hands.

After they left the room Diane turned to Will.

"She's going to be an amazing mother," Diane smiled at the future uncle who was obviously happy about the news.

"Just like you are," Will placed a kiss on her cheek and started putting the dishes into the dishwasher.

"You're flattering me. Do you want something?" Diane sent him a questioning look then joined him with the dishes.

"Why would you think that?" Will shrugged without looking at her.

"I don't know, you've been so absent the whole weekend, always on your phone or the laptop," he'd only stopped working when Sarah had arrived a few hours ago

"It's work," he explained and while Diane was aware that he couldn't really do anything about it, she still wished for them to spend more time together as a family.

"I know, but it's every weekend now and Thanksgiving. Will you at least slow down for Christmas?" the holidays were only two weeks away and ever since the kids had been born Christmas had gotten special importance in their lives. It was the celebration of love and family and they wanted their children to have the best possible Christmases they could give them.

"Absolutely," Will replied, looking right into her eyes this time and she wanted to believe him, but she had to make sure he meant it.

"Can you promise me that?"

"Yes," he kissed her to support his word and Diane truly couldn't wait for the holidays to finally come so they could be just a loving family again for at least a few days.

When they filled the dishwasher and set it to work Will turned to her.

"Looks like Emma really wants a baby sister, it's not the first time I'm hearing this from her."

"I know," Diane admitted and was actually glad Will brought up this subject, they had to talk about it someday, "Do you think we should tell her that this wish won't come true?"

"I don't know, we probably shouldn't take her hope away yet."

"Maybe she'll be happy with a little cousin."

"If it's a girl," Will chuckled.

"Two are enough for us, right? I mean we didn't even want to have children on the first place," Diane stayed with the topic, because she felt it still needed to be dealt with a little more.

"No, we didn't, but I'm glad we've changed our minds."

"Me too and I just want to make sure you don't regret that we won't have a third one. Soon it will be too late."

"Can you imagine starting all over again?"

"Not really, not with the new firm, it's already like a third baby to me."

"Then there's really no reason to talk about this. We're happy as a family and you're living your dream with your own firm, I don't think there's anything else we need."

"There is one thing that I need," Diane replied after a few minutes of silence.

"What is it?"

She looked at him, knowing very well that she'd spoken too fast, because she couldn't tell him the one thing she still needed to be perfectly happy.

"I'll write to Santa Claus, maybe he'll deliver," she joked it off and was hoping he wouldn't insist knowing the answer.

"But if he doesn't, you'll have to tell me at Christmas the latest. I want to make all your wishes come true," he smiled at her and she was hoping he already knew what was that single wish and that she wouldn't have to wait for too long for it to come true.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter Forty-Four**

"What do you mean he doesn't know?"

"I haven't told him."

Sarah's confession that she hadn't told her husband about the baby yet, surprised both Diane and Will. They weren't used to having secrets between them and Diane could only imagine how hard it must have been for Sarah to keep something like that to herself. She already noticed the tears in the younger woman's eyes and silently asked Will's permission to hug his sister on his behalf as well. Sarah welcomed the comforting gesture and she didn't hold back her tears any longer.

"Everything will be fine," Diane said, stroking Sarah's hair gently.

"He's going to hate me and the baby," Sarah cried.

"No, he isn't. He's going to be happy."

"He doesn't want to be a father yet."

"But he will be and the sooner you tell him the more time he'll have to get used to the idea. Not that I think it would take long. He'll be thrilled."

"I wish I could believe you."

"Would you believe if I said the same?" Will interfered and it made Diane smile. She let go off Sarah and gave her place to her brother, who hugged her, "And if he won't be, you can always stay with us. Emma wants a little sister anyway and we are in a desperate need of a babysitter," he joked and Diane was relieved that it was working, because Sarah let out a slight chuckle.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, I'm such a wuss, I ran away instead of telling him."

"You've come to the right place," Will reassured her and Diane never wished for having a brother or a sister more than in that moment, when she saw the two siblings hugging each other.

"We are here for you," Diane said when their hug ended.

"Thank you, it means a lot to me," Sarah reached out to grab her hand.

"And of course you may stay as long as you want, but…"

"I know, I'll talk to him, just give me some time."

"Of course," Diane smiled at her and she was glad to see Sarah smiling as well.

"And now I'm gonna go find my bed, it's been a long day," Sarah stood up and so did Diane and Will. They both hugged her again and wished her good night.

After Sarah left Diane immediately felt Will's arms round her waist, pulling her into a hug.

"You are amazing, I hope you know that," he said, holding her tight.

"She is a part of this family and you are lucky to have her," she replied, enjoying the warmth of his body.

"I'm lucky to have you too," he placed a kiss on her cheek and it made her smile.

She couldn't have been more grateful that their marriage was based on honesty, that she never felt the need to hide anything from him. She was lucky to have him too.

"So am I."

o-o-o

"I need to talk to you," Elsbeth entered Diane's office with a rather nervous look on her face, which suggested nothing good.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm afraid we have a problem, with the case" Elsbeth's voice was slightly trembling and it made Diane feel even more uneasy, "Our client just called me and accused us of slipping information to the other side."

"What?" Diane jumped up from her seat at once.

"They basically fired us from the case, but there's actually no case anymore, because apparently Stern, Holt & Gardner blackmailed them into settling."

"They did what?" Diane sat back in her chair, because her legs just weren't supporting her anymore. Elsbeth couldn't have delivered worse news to her.

"I have no idea how it happened, I thought we were doing fine with the deposition. Well apparently we were otherwise they wouldn't have gotten this desperate."

Diane barely grasped her words, she felt like she was spinning, she was holding onto the side of her desk tightly. She was unable to understand how all this happened in such a short time and most importantly she couldn't believe that the person who she trusted the most in this world was able to do something like that to her.

"Will you give me a moment?" she squeezed out the words and used all the strength she could gather to walk up to her bathroom and enter, slamming the door behind her.

She had never felt so sick before, not even when she had been pregnant. She opened the tap to get some water on her face, but the next minute she had to run to the toilette to get rid of the content of her stomach. She felt like crying or breaking everything around her, or screaming as loud as she could, but she was unable to do either.

She washed her face and drank some water, then faced herself in the mirror. She remembered the last weekend, when Will was lovingly holding her in his arms. He couldn't have done this to her, there had to be an explanation that cleared his name, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to look into her eyes anymore.

She should never have taken this client on the first place, she should never have let them go on separate ways. She suddenly felt the burden of all these decisions and it made her feel sick again.

It took her a while to regain herself and feel strong enough to leave the room and face the consequences. She knew that she had to talk to Will first and as she checked her cell that she'd left on the table there were already three missed calls from him.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter Forty-Five**

Her cell phone rang once more and she stared at her husband's name on the screen.

"Should I come back later?" Elsbeth was still sitting there, probably aware of what Diane was going through.

"Yes, please, I'll call you," Diane said and waited until Elsbeth left her office and tactfully closed the door to answer Will's call.

"Diane, thank god, I was starting to get worried."

Her only reply was silence, she wasn't really sure what to say to him, not to mention she still wasn't feeling too well after her body's intense reaction to the news.

"Are you there?" he tried to reach out to her and just to say that one small word took her too much effort already.

"Yes."

"We need to talk right now, are you in the office?"

"Yes," she repeated it, for the second time it was only a little bit easier.

"I'm coming over, just please wait for me, okay? And don't jump to conclusions until you hear me out. You know I love you, right?"

"I know," she wanted to trust him, believe that there was a reasonable explanation for all this, but she couldn't help feeling angry and hurt. It wasn't about winning or losing anymore, it was about her firm's reputation and her own.

"I'll be there soon."

"No, don't come here," they couldn't meet in the office, they had to be completely alone for this conversation, since the outcome was unpredictable. Besides she really needed to get out of there, if only for a while, "Let's meet at home."

"Sure, whatever you want, I'm on my way. I love you."

Diane hang up without a word.

o-o-o

On her way home Diane managed to gather herself, she slowly started to feel better physically and with that she also regained her mental strength. Had it been any other firm defeating her that way, she would have handled it better, it felt a hundred times worse coming from him. And he must have known, otherwise he wouldn't have behaved like that on the phone. The only question was how could he let this happen on the first place?

"Are you all right?" Will's first question convinced Diane that even though she was feeling better, her looks probably betrayed her.

"I've been better," she shrugged and took a seat on the couch opposite from him, "What the hell have you done?"

"I didn't have a choice."

She was hoping to hear it hadn't been him, so his statement was like a knife sting right into her heart.

"You always have a choice," she said in a painful voice and felt the tears gather in her eyes, but she was unable to stop them. Her freshly gathered strength was about to disappear.

"I have no idea how they got that information, I had nothing to do with that, but they made me use it, I was outvoted."

She got her explanation, but it didn't make her feel so much better, he shouldn't have hurt her like that, she should have been more important to him than his own firm.

"Do you have any idea how much it will hurt my reputation if it comes out that I slipped information to my opponent?"

"I told you you shouldn't have taken the client on the first place," his reaction was rather unexpected and it just exasperated her even more.

"So you basically say I've dug my own grave? I feel so much better now, thank you," she had to wipe off her tears now, because they started running down her cheeks. Will got up from his seat, approached her and kneeled down in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I want you to know how sorry I am, that I don't approve of their methods. I would never hurt you like that, you have to know that."

"You are turning into them, I knew it would be just a matter of time," she looked into his eyes on the verge of crying.

"It won't happen and I can prove you that easily."

"How?"

"I quit today."

"You what?"

"I'm done with them, I'm choosing you. I'm going to help you find out who slipped this information and we're going to defend your reputation together."

She'd been waiting for him to say this for so long and it was the only answer that could really heal her pain. Still she couldn't stop the crying that made her whole body tremble, she had to get rid of the tension inside of her somehow. Will sat on the couch next to her and put his arm around her to pull her closer to him.

After a few minutes she took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears and blow her nose, then she looked at him and at last her lips curled up to a smile.

"I love you," she said and he replied with a kiss that spoke volumes about his feelings.

Nothing else mattered anymore, only their love for each other that had helped them through whatever obstacle had come their way. It had been a bumpy ride, but they were on each other's side again and together they were so much stronger.


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter Forty-Six**

Diane went right to Elsbeth's office when she arrived back at the firm. She closed the door and took a seat at the desk.

"We need to figure out what to do," Diane said, kind of hoping Elsbeth had already come up with something while she'd been busy talking things through with Will.

"I know. It would be helpful to know what was the information they got their hands on."

"Will can't tell us, so we'll have to find out in some other way."

She hadn't even asked Will about the leaked information, but she knew he wouldn't have been able to tell her anyway. That would have meant sinking to his partners level and Diane had always tried hard to play by the rules.

"You should put Kalinda on it," Elsbeth suggested the best possible solution.

"I will and hopefully she can also find out who was the leak."

Before talking to Will it had crossed Diane's mind that she might have been the one accidentally providing Will with some information. They were living together after all, it could have happened. She was relieved that it hadn't been the case.

"I might know the answer to that," Diane made a wide eye hearing this reply, "It wasn't me of course."

"I didn't doubt that for a second," Diane smiled at her, she would have suspected herself first than Elsbeth, she just wasn't the kind of person to do such a thing.

"Thank you," Elsbeth obviously appreciated Diane's trust, "Well, you probably won't like the idea, but there's a chance it might have been Chris."

The solution was so obvious that Diane felt stupid not thinking about it first. Chris had been taken off the case, not to mention she had been suspicious of him ever since the incident with the Parker-family.

"Do you think he would be able to do such a thing?" she was merely asking from herself, but said it out loud nevertheless.

"You know him better than I do, he hasn't exactly been too friendly with me ever since I arrived."

"I used to have a feeling he was after my seat," Diane never said this to anyone before, so it was good to finally share her fear with someone.

"He probably still is."

"This is crazy," she sighed.

Even if Chris was the obvious answer, it was still hard to believe he would betray her like that. Not to mention it would mean she had made another bad decision on a professional level and to think that Will might have been right about Chris too, just made her feel even more miserable.

"I know, but we'll fix this," Elsbeth put her hand on Diane's encouragingly and Diane really appreciated her gesture, "Did you talk to Will? How did that go?"

"We've managed to clear the air, it helped that he quit his job."

"Does that mean he might join this firm?"

"We can't afford to maintain a family from one income," Diane smiled rather bitterly.

"Not everything is bad after all," Elsbeth tried to cheer her up with a more positive smile and Diane knew that she was right on some level. In the end things would be the way she'd always wanted them to be.

"But everything comes at a price," she sighed again, finding it still hard to see the bright side.

"I just want you to know that I'm here if you need anything," Elsbeth reassured her and Diane was grateful for her support.

"Thank you," she forced a happier smile on her lips.

"Which reminds me, do you still need my sister as a sitter?" Elsbeth changed the subject quickly.

"I almost forgot about that. Well right now my sister-in-law is in town, and I also have an unemployed husband, but sooner or later we'll need her help," she was looking forward to meeting Elsbeth's sister, but it had to wait now.

"I'll tell her that."

"Thank you, for everything. And now let's have a conversation with Kalinda."

o-o-o

Emma was thrilled that both her parents were there to pick her up from school in the afternoon and Diane couldn't be happier to see her daughter's joy due to such a small, but meaningful thing. They had decided not to tell the kids just yet what had happened, that they would be working together again soon, they needed to solve the problem first and only make new plans afterwards. They simply told them Will took some time off from work and would be home more in the next days and it was enough to make the kids happy.

"Can I skip school too and stay home with dad and Aunt Sarah?" Emma's suggestion made Diane laugh during dinner.

"No, you can't, you only have a few more days of school left until the winter break."

"I know, but may I at least come home earlier each day, right after classes?

"I'll see what I can do about that," Will promised and it seemed to satisfy his daughter.

"I can't wait till Christmas," Em declared and Diane couldn't help agreeing with her.

She was hoping that by Christmas all their current problems would be solved and they could have an unclouded celebration together, with the promise of a better new year.

* * *

**A/N: I just wanted to let you all know that I've managed to finish this fic. It will have 50 chapters alltogether, so 4 more chapters to come. ****I'm toying with the idea of writing a sequel that takes place 10 years from now, when the kids are teenagers. If you are interested in reading that, I might give it a try, but only after I finish my WB trilogy.**


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter Forty-Seven**

Diane and Sarah were making dinner in the kitchen together that night, while Will was finally spending some quality time with his kids. They had told Sarah what had happened and she'd reassured them she'd been ready to help with anything. It felt good to have someone they could count on in such a difficult time, but Diane knew Sarah needed their support just as much as they needed hers.

"Do you mind if I ask Roger to fly over for the weekend? I really shouldn't break the news to him on the phone and I feel braver with you around."

Diane was glad to hear Sarah's question, that she was ready to take this step now, to tell her husband about the baby and their presence gave her the courage she needed.

"Why would we mind? You are both welcomed here anytime."

Even with what they were going through it was their principle that family came first and right now Sarah's baby was the most important issue.

"I know this might be the worst timing ever, I'm sorry I'm causing you so much trouble."

"What are you talking about? You couldn't have come at a better time and you won't leave here until your husband comes to his senses."

"I hope he will."

"I'm sure about that, Will can be pretty persuasive," Diane chuckled.

"I know," Sarah replied with a smile, "Let's hope we won't need his intervention though."

"I don't think so, unless Roger wants someone else to be the baby's godparents, because we've called that already," Diane made a threatening move with a spoon, accompanied by a smile.

"That's non negotiable."

"That's what I wanted to hear. Emma's so excited, she's already collected some of her old toys to give to the baby."

Diane was really proud of her daughter when she had seen the little package Emma had put together for her future cousin.

"I know, she is the sweetest, you've done a great job with both kids, I have no idea how you did that with your busy schedule."

"I honestly have no idea either, but I'm sure it won't last forever. We'll have our share of mother-daughter fights in the future and your job as an aunt and godmother will become even more important."

"And the time will come when my kid will need you the same way."

Their conversation was interrupted by the doorbell and Diane went to see who their unexpected visitor was. She was even more surprised to find her aunt standing at the door.

"Aunt Diane," she hugged the elderly lady "Did we schedule something for today?"

"Can't I just come to visit you if I feel like it?" she entered the door and Diane closed it behind her.

"Of course you can," Diane replied, even though she wished her aunt had announced her visit beforehand.

"I had to come when I heard the rumor."

"What rumor?"

"That your stupid husband quit his job at one of the city's top firms."

Diane was shocked that the news already reached her aunt, of course she had friends everywhere.

"Not so loud, please, the kids don't know anything about that."

"So is it true?" the accusation in her voice was quite clear, even though Diane couldn't understand why.

"Yes, it is."

"How could he do such a thing?" the aunt raised her voice and Diane got quite upset hearing her tone.

"He did it for me," she said in an attempt to calm her down, but it didn't reach the desired effect.

"How could you ask something like that from him?"

"I didn't ask him anything, he has his own will you know," Diane couldn't believe she had to justify Will's decision to someone who never even cared for him that much.

"That was a stupid decision. Now everyone will talk about him as the quitter. They already refer to him like that."

Diane was hoping her aunt was just exaggerating, even though she knew how such rumors were able to spread around the city quite quickly. She had been busy worrying about her own reputation, she hadn't even considered how this would effect Will's. She would never have admitted that her aunt made a valid point though.

"You shouldn't judge him, you have no idea what happened."

"Did she sleep with someone at the firm?"

"What?"

The question couldn't have sounded more ridiculous. Anyone who knew Will just a little was aware that he would never do anything like that.

"I have always thought him capable of such a thing. Did he get sued for sexual harassment?"

Diane finally lost her patience and raised her voice, ignoring the fact that the children might have heard what she said.

"I don't want to listen to you anymore. It's my house, so do me a favor and show some respect towards my husband or you are no longer welcomed here."

The older lady's eyes widened, she wasn't used to her niece talking to her like that, but she'd left Diane no other choice.

"Fine. I'll go, but don't expect me to jump the next time you need someone to look after your kids."

"I won't."

Diane slammed the door after her aunt and for the second time that day her eyes filled with tears again. The last thing she needed was a lecture like that from someone who was supposed to be on her side. Fortunately the next moment she felt a pair of strong arms around her, it was Will.

"Have you been here all this time?" she asked as she turned around in his arms to face him.

"I came down when I heard the doorbell."

"You shouldn't have witnessed this."

"I've always known she doesn't like me too much, and the feeling is mutual."

"I'm so sorry."

"It is not your fault," Will stroke her face gently.

"Did the kids hear anything?"

"I don't think so. Emma's busy with some drawing and Nat's playing in his room."

"Thank god," Diane tried to calm down and breathe normally again, she was grateful for Will's arms still supporting her.

"Thank you for defending me," he smiled at her.

"You would have done the same for me."

Will pulled her into a much needed hug and Diane could see Sarah standing at the kitchen door smiling.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter Forty-Eight**

Will insisted on coming to Diane's office the next day and take part in the damage control like he'd promised. They hadn't made any other plans, they wanted to take one step at a time. Everything had happened so fast, they needed to adjust to the different circumstances, to talk things through thoroughly.

"Let me introduce our private investigator, Kalinda," Diane said when Elsbeth and Kalinda entered her office.

"Will Gardner," Will shook Kalinda's hand.

"The rumor was true," Kalinda said with a smile.

"What rumor?" he asked.

"Don't worry, I've only heard good thing about you," Kalinda replied and sent a smile in Diane's direction.

Diane was relieved to see that Kalinda approved of Will, she was aware that it was hard to achieve that by her and for the future it was important that they got along well.

"Will's not working for Stern/Holt anymore and he intends to help us solve this peculiar situation, so you can talk about anything openly in his presence," Diane gave Kalinda the necessary information and permission to tell them what she'd found out.

"All right, I'm 99% sure that the leak came from this firm and that it was Christopher Wilson."

Diane hadn't told Will about the possibility that it might have been Christopher who had helped their case by providing information. She knew how he would have reacted and they'd had enough tension between them already the previous day. Not to mention she'd secretly hoped it hadn't been Christopher, but Kalinda's statement made that hope disappear.

"The bastard," Will reacted angrily and Diane raised her eyebrows, she wished he'd tried to hold back on his emotions until they would be alone again.

"I have photos to prove he had a very friendly meeting with one of the equity partners at Stern/Holt last night," Kalinda added and showed them the said pictures.

"He will feel at home there," Will said sarcastically, turning away from the evidence.

Diane took the pictures and stared at her former boss. She couldn't have been more relieved that she didn't have to be a part of his dirty tricks anymore. Not that it was much better to be on the receiving end of their dealings. And of course there was Chris. She hated herself for having been so blind, for believing that someone she'd rejected so many years ago, would still be on her side. He basically sabotaged what she had been working for this past year.

"Will you just let him go?" Elsbeth asked, looking at Diane.

"I don't see what other choice I have," Diane sighed and placed the photos on her desk, "He would deserve to be kicked out of course, but we really don't need more bad publicity. We can't exactly prove what he did and our client wouldn't profit from that either, we've caused them enough damage already."

"But we can't allow Stern/Holt to get away with it," Elsbeth replied, "No offence, Will," she smiled at him.

"Non taken."

"We'll make sure they won't fool us twice," Diane said, with determination, "Thank you Kalinda," she nodded. Kalinda did the same and left the office.

"Please tell Evelyn to call me when Chris gets back from his court hearing, I want to talk to him first thing," Diane addressed Elsbeth.

"I will…and I'm sorry," Elsbeth said with empathy in her voice and Diane really appreciated her support, especially because she wasn't expecting the same reaction from her own husband.

Once the door closed behind Elsbeth Diane looked at Will.

"I can imagine all the things you want to say to me right now, just please wait until we're alone some place else. I need to keep some respect around here."

"You couldn't have seen this coming, none of us could have" Will's calm and understanding reaction was a pleasant surprise, he'd seemed very angry just a few minutes ago and Diane knew how much he hated Chris, "Who knows what Stern and Holt offered him in return? Probably even my seat. They hated that you were opposing them on this one, always one step ahead, while in the past you helped them win against the same client. I'm just glad I got rid of them for once and for all."

"I am too," Diane smiled. She couldn't believe his words. She'd expected at least a 'told you so' and some accusation, not a sudden understanding. But it was exactly what she needed at that moment.

"Is that still my office?" Will pointed at the empty room on the opposite side of the corridor.

"It's yours if you want it," Diane said with a smile.

"Considering that I'm unemployed right now, it seems to be my best option," he joked.

"That is not how you sell yourself to your future boss," Diane teased.

"I'm sorry, do you want to know about my special skills?" Will continued in the same tone and it felt good for Diane to finally be playful again.

"Depending on what those skills are," she challenged him.

"Let's see, I can make a pretty good coffee, I can drive you wherever you want whenever you want it and I know the best restaurants in town," Will listed his skills as he got closer to Diane behind the table.

"I'm sorry, but those kind of positions are already filled," she started to enjoy their little game.

"Damn. How about my kissing skills?"

"How about them?"

"I could offer my services during the day," Will bent closer to her

"I'm not sure my husband would approve of that," she could see it in his eyes that her reply satisfied him.

"You don't have to tell him," he challenged her once more.

"But we tell each other everything."

"What a lucky guy he is," Will smiled and pulled Diane up from her armchair.

"I'm sure he knows that," she put her arms around his neck.

"I do," Will said before his lips touched hers.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter Forty-Nine**

Diane stared at Will after she hung up her office phone. He was going through some notes for one of her current cases. Even though it would take some time for him to join the firm officially, she figured she would make some use of him being there already.

"Chris is back from court," she said and could see how the previous anger appeared on Will's face again.

"Then it's time. Want me to go with you?" he offered, his voice contradicting the shown feelings.

"No, I need to do this on my own."

He gave her an encouraging smile which Diane tried to return then she took a huge breath and the pictures in her hand and walked out the office.

She knocked on the glass of Chris's office, but didn't wait for any reply before she entered.

"We need to talk," she said and closed the door behind her.

"Is there something wrong?" Chris either pretended to be unaware of the events or he really had no idea Diane already knew. She didn't even consider the possibility that he could have been innocent, all the evidence pointed in the opposite direction.

"Could you please explain me these?" Diane placed the pictures on his desk and Chris only stared at the top photo for a short moment before he raised his eyes back on Diane.

"I just had some drinks with an old friend," he shrugged.

"An old friend who just happened to ruin our firm's reputation yesterday? What did you two possibly have to talk about after all that?" Diane tried to keep her voice low, hold her anger back, caused by his behavior.

"Are you accusing me of something?" Chris on the other hand didn't even show a hint of uneasiness.

"Why did you meet him?" Diane asked directly this time, hoping for an honest answer.

"What do you want to hear?"

"The truth," she looked him in the eye and tried to make him understand that the game was already over.

"I have a feeling you already know the truth," Chris gave in just like that and bent his head down, "I'm sorry."

It wasn't the first time she accused him of something, his apology reminded her of several similar ones from the past. He'd always thought apologizing would automatically make everything right at once, but it wasn't that easy to forgive this time.

"I just want to know why. Was it revenge? That's why you offered to work for me? Have you been planning this all along?"

"No, I just felt that you didn't really want me here," he sounded hurt and it just made Diane even more angry.

"That is not true."

"Then Will didn't want me here, all the same."

"Don't you dare pin this on him," she raised her voice, "This is your own mess. If you wanted to leave you should have said so, why do this to me? Do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you, I could never hate you, I was just angry and their offer was irrefutable," he tried to explain himself, but it was too late for this.

"I hope it was worth it," Diane said and turned around because she already felt some tears in her eyes, she didn't want to show any weakness in front of him.

"Diane," he called her name, but she took a step forward.

"You have one hour to clean out your office," she said decisively and walked out the door.

By the time she entered her office she managed to fight the need to cry yet again. Chris disappointed her so much, but he wasn't worth those tears. She'd thought they would have been able to work together after all those years, but it turned out to be a bad decision hiring him. Luckily for Diane, she always learnt from her mistakes.

"What happened?" Will turned to her.

"He'll be gone in an hour," she said as she walked back to her chair and sat down.

"I'm sorry," he tried to keep an understanding face.

"No, you're not," she smiled, "That's what you've wanted all along," she sounded calm already, what had happened happened, now they had to start concentrating on the bright side of things.

"I get what I want you get what you want, it's basically a win-win."

"What do you mean what I want?"

"Me, in that office on the other end of the corridor, and there's still a week until Christmas, looks like your present arrived early this year."

"Looks like it," she replied with a smile.

At last she felt that this nightmare was over and she knew that there was nothing they wouldn't be able to achieve as long as they're together.


	50. Chapter 50

_**A/N: Here comes the last chapter. :( I'm kind of sad I had to put an end to this story, it was like a baby to me right from the start, very special.  
**_

_** I'd like to thank everyone for reading and especially those who took the time to review. I might write a sequel someday, that will take place about 10 years after this story. I hope you'll read it if I do. **_

_******You'll realize that the ending is similar to something that happened in 416. It's only a coincidence, because I wrote this chapter long ago, I have proof too :D**_

_**This chapter has a slightly M rated smut part! (I know it's rather short though, sorry about that :P )**_

* * *

**Chapter Fifty**

They usually spent Christmas Eve on Aunt Diane's annual Christmas party, but none of them minded that their plans had to change this year. Even though it was Christmas, the celebration of the family, Diane could not forget the fight with her aunt from a week ago. Maybe it was just pride, but she decided it was time to start their own Christmas Eve tradition with a home cooked meal she and Will prepared together.

The dinner turned out to be delicious and the little family, including Sarah and her husband enjoyed the food, the Christmas spirit and each other's company. Roger had come to visit a couple of days before and ever since he'd found out about Sarah's pregnancy he'd treated her like a princess. Sarah couldn't have been more wrong about her husband's feelings, he was already behaving like a father with his unborn child and it made Sarah extremely happy.

Diane had baked her famous chocolate cake for dessert and she was about to cut it, when the doorbell interrupted her. They weren't expecting company that night, so it caught them by surprise.

"I'll get it," Will offered and a short while later their visitor appeared in the doorway of the dining room.

"Merry Christmas," Aunt Diane said with a shy smile, looking at her niece who couldn't have been more stunned, "Can I talk to you and Will for a moment?" she asked in an unusually soft tone of voice.

"Sure," Diane replied and followed her aunt to the living room.

"I'd like to apologize for the things I said the other day," the older Diane said looking from one to the other, "I didn't mean to hurt either of you and I had no right to talk to you like that."

Diane rarely heard an apology from that lady's mouth, so she had to appreciate it even more. She looked at Will, since he was the one her aunt had hurt the most with her statements and he gave his silent consent to say what she was about to say.

"We forgive you," Diane said with a smile and hugged her aunt.

"Thank you, you know the Christmas party just wasn't the same without all of you," she smiled at Will as well.

"Actually we're having a fantastic dinner and you're just in time for the dessert," Diane delivered a subtle invitation.

"Your chocolate cake?" her aunt guessed just right.

"Yes, will you join us?"

"Nothing would make me happier."

They walked back to the dining room together and Diane offered her seat at one end of the table to her aunt, who took it proudly. While Diane cut the cake she couldn't stop smiling, finally all dark clouds disappeared from her thoughts and as she looked at the wonderful family they had, she couldn't have been happier.

o-o-o

"Just one more story, please," Emma begged Diane for the second time that night.

"Your brother is long asleep, Santa won't come until you are too," she tried to reason with her daughter, which usually worked, but not this time.

"I just want one last story, I promise I'll sleep afterwards," Emma used her magical smile, which was hard to say not to.

"You said it before the last one as well," she chuckled, stroking her hair gently.

"But now I mean it."

"Aren't you too old for bedtime stories?"

"But the way you read them is so much fun, no one can do it like you," the praise warmed Diane's heart and she hugged her beautiful daughter with love.

"Mom?" Em's voice was a little different now.

"Yes?"

"I won't have a little sister or brother anymore, right?"

Diane couldn't believe her seven-year-old daughter was old enough to understand what was left unsaid between them.

"I don't think so, sweetie," Diane stroke her face gently.

"It's okay, I'll love Aunt Sarah's baby like my own sister or brother," Emma said so wisely that Diane couldn't have been more proud of her.

"I love you so much," Diane gave Emma a sweet kiss on her cheek then adjusted her blanket.

"I think I'm going to sleep now, so that Santa can come," Emma closed her eyes, forgetting about the next story and Diane stared at her dear face for a short while before she turned off the light.

o-o-o

"I'm exhausted," Diane lay next to Will on the bed after a quick shower.

"Tonight couldn't have been more perfect," Will said as he took Diane's hand and lifted it up to his lips, to place a kiss on it. Diane found this rather gentlemanly behavior very sweet. She turned to her side to face him and slowly ran her pointing finger on his lips.

"I'm afraid if I kiss you now, we won't be getting too much sleep tonight," she said with longing in her voice. She wanted to kiss him, but not in a 'just a good night kiss' kind of way which contradicted the tiredness she felt all over her body.

"And what's wrong with that?" he smiled and turned in her direction with his whole body.

"Have I mentioned that I'm exhausted?" Diane asked, without showing any other resistance, she felt the desire take over and there was nothing she could or wanted to do about it anymore.

"I know the best way for you to relax," Will gently pushed her to her back and got on top of her.

His face moved closer to her, but in the end it was Diane who pulled him by the neck and closed the gap between them to indulge in that long awaited kiss, which obviously wasn't meant to be just a that. She soon felt Will's hands invading her legs, reaching under her nightgown and after a few more eager kisses that ended with both of them grasping for air she got rid of her lingerie to let him go further. The warm touch of his lips made her skin burn inch by inch as he made his way down from her neck to her stomach, removing her panties from his way.

Her body was squirming under his mouth and hands, silently begging him to stop the teasing and do something about her unbearable desire that reached its limit as she felt his tongue gently licking her. She turned her head from one side to the other, tried to keep her mouth shut not to scream out loud due to the pleasure she felt. Soon his lips were back on hers to occupy them with kisses while he finally got rid of his underpants and made the move they'd been waiting for, over and over again.

o-o-o

The kids' joyful screaming was the wake-up call for Diane on Christmas Day, like it had been for the last few years. The two early birds sounded happy with their presents and Diane turned to her husband with a content smile.

"Merry Christmas," she said and kissed him softly.

"Merry Christmas," he replied and turned to the nightstand to take something, "I wanted to give this to you first thing today."

Diane took the wrapped flat object from him and opened it, just to find the same door-plate under the cover that she'd given him when she'd showed him their office space for the first time, almost a year ago. Lockhart&Gardner. She stared at their names carved on the piece of glass and could hardly believe that in just a few days their dream would finally come true.

**THE END**


End file.
